A/N: Hey guys! :D I know, I'm still writing Opposites Attract and I really should stop writing other stuff but I can't help it! Ashley (ObsessivePrincess) gave me the idea for this (well, kinda) and demanded I write it, so I did. :L It's taken me ages, but it's worth it, I've finally got it up! This is a Naley one shot (when do I write anything else? :L) based on the events of 3x16, The school shooting. I hope I did it justice! The idea came into my head 'cause Ashley was watching it and then I said something and it went from there. :L Hope you enjoy it! :)
PS - My wonderful beta Shay (othfan1919) has just posted the start of her new short (ish) story, If We Ever Meet Again. It's Naley, so anyone reading this, if you review this I expect a review on that too! She's awesome, honestly! It's really good too. Go check her out! :)
Gone before you truly existed
She lay in the hospital bed, praying to get through this. She didn't need the drama of this situation right now. She didn't need it at all, let alone want it. She closed herself off from the rest of the world, not wanting to talk to anyone. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone about the excruciating pain she was feeling both physically and emotionally. Nobody would understand. Nobody could understand. Nobody could or would understand her pain until they experienced it themselves.
And that is something she would never wish on her arch enemy. She wished that somebody would understand, yet she wished that nobody would ever go through the pain that she was feeling. That would be a cruel and twisted thing to happen to a person. Nobody deserved it, no matter what the circumstances. And someone that especially didn't deserve this pain was 17 year old Haley Scott. She was too young to cope, and had done nothing but give her whole life.
She never asked for anything, she never hated anybody, she was never selfish. She always put others before herself, no matter what her personal opinion of the person or the situation was. She would always do it because that's the kind of person that she was. But just this once, she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to be selfish and ask for something for herself, rather than for others. The one time in her life when she truly needed some guidance and she just wanted to be selfish about everything.
It wasn't her fault, of course. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that shouldn't have been the case. High school was a place where everything was supposed to be safe. You were supposed to be safe at school. Away from all the drama of the outside world, high school was a safe haven of seven hundred days that was supposed to keep you away from all the drama; away from all the hurt and the pain, too. But on this one day, it didn't. And that was one day that should have never happened.
*12 hours earlier*
The day looked to be like any normal day at Tree Hill High. The mad morning rush before first period started, the noise of lockers opening and closing as people gathered their books and of course, the constant loud noise of people talking.
Haley was currently in the tutor centre, setting up for her tutees that would be arriving throughout the course of the day. Nathan was on his way back from a basketball function, along with the rest of the team, he had been gone three days and was coming home today. She couldn't wait to see him, she had missed him dearly. They hadn't been apart since they got their marriage back on track after the tour. Their marriage was now stronger than ever, and they weren't looking too much to the future, they were focusing on each day as it came.
They had married towards the end of the junior year, after getting the blessing from Haley's parents. Nathan was emancipated from his parents, and didn't therefore need any sort of permission. It was a spontaneous idea, and they had only been dating a few months. But once Haley had gotten permission from her parents, she was more than open to the idea. Nobody believed in them at first, and when she moved in with him into his one bedroom apartment, she had sat and sobbed about nobody believing in them, but Nathan being his normal loving self, had convinced her otherwise.
She smiled at the thought of her husband, and shook her head to shake off the day dreams. She continued her set up as a few of her students piled in. What she hadn't expected, however, was the events that turned the day into a nightmare.
Jimmy Edwards was a good kid. At least, he used to be.
He used to spend his days announcing basketball games with his best friend on the river court. Him and Marvin, commonly known as Mouth McFadden, would watch their best friends, Lucas, Skills, Junk and Fergie, play games of basketball on the court and pretend like they were sports announcers. They would watch their every move and announce it with every precise detail. They were happy kids, until Lucas joined the varsity basketball team and everything changed. He stopped playing at the river court so much, and had barely any time for his old friends now that he was a varsity player. In the beginning, Mouth and Jimmy had attended every game. And then everything changed.
People changed, friendships changed, hierarchies changed. Jimmy Edwards became nobody. Nobody had noticed him for weeks, and he realised the day that he was ignored was the best day he'd had in a long time. He was a loser. And he'd released the time capsule to let everyone know exactly how he felt about them all. He'd told the time capsule that there wasn't a single person at Tree Hill High to remember in 50 years. They'd all changed somehow.
"So you wanna know what it's like in my high school. Well the truth is: there's not a single person in this place worth remembering. People are fake, so they stick to their cliques to hide it. The stoners are medicated, the honour students are afraid, and the jocks, well, they're jocks, man. They'll peak at 17 and their cheerleader girlfriends will be fat and lonely by 21. Losers. Everyone here is a loser. And the truth is: every day I have to come to this school is one less day I have to come back." He had said on the video.
He'd walked into the school the next day, after all classes were cancelled the previous day to deal with the aftermath of the time capsule being released. He looked at everyone around him, laughing and joking with their friends. He watched as three of them walked past him, and instantly he recognised them. They were the guys who beat him up last night. They purposely bumped into him as they laughed and said "Nice locker, loser". They'd trashed it. They'd somehow opened up his locker and pulled everything out, spreading it out over the floor.
He dropped his backpack and reached into the front pocket of his hoodie, placing one hand around the object inside of it. He pulled out the item that he held, and put it on show for everyone else to see. A gun. He was holding a gun.
He aimed it at nobody in particular, but eyed the gun within his eye line, as it pointed at the glass doors ahead of him. Brooke Davis and her best friend, Peyton Sawyer, weren't in that corridor at the time. They turned the corner to that corridor and were instantly horrified at what they saw. Jimmy Edwards was pointing a gun, and he looked to be pointing it in their direction. Brooke had pulled Peyton down with her as she ducked from the gun shot. He pulled the trigger and the bullet went through the glass instantly as it shattered into millions of pieces around them.
People were terrified at the events that were unfolding around them. They had started screaming and shouting, and were running around like headless chickens trying to get out. Jimmy Edwards was also scared. He couldn't believe that he had actually just pulled the trigger on a gun and let a shot go off. He pulled the gun back down and placed it into his pocket, following the crowds and rushing to a 'safe' area.
Principal Tuner's voice came booming over the voiceover system, informing all students of the code red situation and to either get out or get to a designated lock down area. Haley let about five students into the tutor centre before she locked the door, turned off the lights and slid down the wall.
Meanwhile, Brooke was running outside, following the rest of the crowds. She was shouting for her best friend, having lost her in the madness. She ran into the arms of her boyfriend, Lucas Scott, who was stepping off the bus after arriving back from the basketball function.
"Somebody has a gun inside and they're shooting." She cried hysterically.
"Oh dear God." Whitey said overhearing Brooke's hysterical cries. "Everybody back on the bus, now!" He bellowed with a tone of authority.
"I lost Peyton. I don't know where she is. She was right there and a shot went off and she was gone!" She cried hysterically once more.
"Wait, Peyton was shot?" He questioned, holding her arms to keep her still.
"No! I don't know! She was right behind me we were by the library!" She answered the question, trying her hardest to make herself understood.
"Haley's in the tutor centre." Nathan realized, concerned for his wife's safety.
"All students on the bus, code red, now!" Whitey bellowed once more. "Nathan, get your ass on that bus." He demanded, as he ran towards the school.
"Luke!" Brooke had protested as he ran after his brother.
"Brooke, don't worry. I'll be right back." He said as he turned around.
He tackled Nathan to the ground as he caught up with him, trying to keep him down.
"Get off me, man!" He protested as he fought against his brother and got himself up again. "Haley's inside." He ran into the school with Lucas right behind him. Brooke, meanwhile, was being held back by Whitey and being shoved onto the bus. Whitey had instructed the driver to drive away from the school, as the boys disappeared from sight.
In the tutor centre, Haley and the other five students were sitting against the wall, terrified of the outcome of this terrible situation.
"Everyone just stay down and stay calm, we're safe here." She soothed, saying it more for her own benefit than anyone else's.
She was just as terrified as the rest of them. None of them had seen the shooter, and were therefore unaware of their identity. Yet they were all still terrified as hell. Nobody was crying; they were too numb for that. The only emotion running through the six young teenagers was fear. Fear for their lives, fear for their peers' lives, and fear of being found. They hoped that they wouldn't be trapped in there for too long, and would all make it out alive and unharmed. They couldn't die so young. They were all seventeen and eighteen years old, they weren't supposed to be like this. None of it was supposed to be like this.
"We need to get out of here." Announced one of the students, who went by the name of Markus.
"No, we need to stay put. It's procedure. Lockdown, we have to wait until its safe." Haley replied.
"And I'm saying lockdown is crap. If whoever is out there is just doing their thing they're going to know where we're at." He bit back.
"What about the windows? We could break the windows and get out." Rachel suggested.
"No, it just goes to a courtyard. It's enclosed, it's just for light." Haley explained.
"Besides, if we break the windows, all we doing is drawing attention to ourselves." Skills spoke up.
"And you don't think a locked door is going to tell whatever psycho that is out there that we're in here?" Markus retorted.
"Why would you call him psycho?" A young boy aged around seventeen spoke up. Everybody looked at him as he spoke.
"Something to do with them trying to kill us all, fat ass." Markus replied sarcastically. The young boy didn't say anything, for in fact, what nobody knew in that room is that Markus had just called Jimmy Edwards a psycho. He'd just called Jimmy Edwards a fat ass. But then, how was he to know that Jimmy was the possessor of the gun? This whole experience was frightening enough, without realizing that the shooter was actually within a metre of you.
People had been trying their phones, trying to let everyone know that they were safe. Well at least they were, for the moment. Nobody knew what was going on, whether it was safe to leave, or whether they could leave without risking their lives. All they knew was that they were trapped in the tutor centre, with no knowledge of what was going in the outside world. Would anybody know they were there? Would they make it out alive? Nobody knew.
"No service. All circuits busy." Skills sighed as he flipped his phone shut and placed it back in his pocket. "This sucks, man."
"I know. But we have to stay here, its procedure." Haley sighed in reply.
It must've been about a half hour later when they heard somebody tampering with the door. They had all taken a sharp intake of breath when they heard the door trying to be opened. There was nobody around apart from the shooter. They still weren't aware that the shooter was actually in their wake. They all stiffened when they heard somebody outside, trying to get into the tutor centre. There was a sharp intake of breath from every student as they worried themselves about who was on the other side. Markus almost instantly shot up, looking towards the door. Haley was sat closest to the door, and she stiffened as she sat up straighter when she heard the door trying to be opened. Whoever was on the other side was trying to prove their identity, as they slid a slip of laminated paper through the gap under the door. Haley crawled towards it as it slid through, and picked it up, examining it to determine who it belonged too.
"It's Nathan!" She exclaimed, as she picked up the drivers license and went towards the door. Markus ran towards her and held her by the arms to keep her in place.
"No. You don't know it's him." He stated.
"No, it's his driver's license!" She protested, turning the item over and showing it to them as her proof.
"So how do you know someone didn't kill him and take his ID?" He questioned as she sighed. "You're the one who said this was a lockdown. Every man for himself."
"She can't leave him out there." Rachel cut in. Rachel Gatina was the last person that Haley expected to understand. She had been trying to make a pass at Nathan all year. She tried and she failed every time, but it pissed Haley off, none the less.
"Don't open it." Abby protested as she stood up and joined the group who were now standing by the door.
"Do not open that door." Markus ordered.
"Shut up, shut up!" She demanded, with a wave of her hand as she leaned closer to the door. "Always."
"And forever." Came the reply, and it only took those two words for Haley to know it was her husband on the other side of that door.
"It's him." She determined, moving her hand to open the door. Markus stopped her once more. Skills moved him away from her and the door, and pinned him against the wall.
"If she says it's him, it's him. Open the door, Haley." Skills demanded, as she moved to do so.
She did as she was told and opened the door with a deep breath, and was relieved when she saw her husband on the other side. She nearly burst into tears of relief as he pulled her against him, and held her tightly. He placed multiple kisses on the top of her head, willing himself not to cry.
"Thank god." He mumbled as she let out the breath she was holding in. "Are you okay, baby?"
"Yeah. What's going on out there?" She asked, not leaving his side.
"I don't know. But we're getting out of here, okay? All of us. Let's go." He looked up to the rest of the group, as he kept his hand tightly linked with Haley's. They all headed towards the door and began to open it once more, before they were stopped in their tracks.
"Don't." A voice from behind them said. They all turned around to see Jimmy Edwards pointing a gun at them. Haley moved closer to Nathan in fear, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. "Nobody's going anywhere." He stated, as everyone moved closer to each other. "Get away from the door." Nobody moved in fear that he would pull the trigger. "DO IT." He ordered, as everyone started to move.
"Alright, man! Just chill out!" Nathan exclaimed, as everyone moved along the wall they were previously sat against.
"Move back from the door, Skills." Jimmy demanded.
"Or what, you gonna shoot me? We used to be friends, dawg." Skills replied, whilst doing as he was told.
"Yeah, used to be." He reiterated.
"You can't do this, Jim." Mouth spoke up. He had come into the tutor centre behind Nathan, after coming out of the AV room and noticing everyone was gone.
"It's a little late for that, Mouth." Jimmy replied.
"Just let us go, man. I'm sorry I called you fat ass." Markus intervened.
"It's a little late for that, too." He replied once more. "What about you, hero?" He asked, waving the gun at Nathan. "Are you scared?"
"Yeah, I'm scared." He replied as calmly as possible, feeling Haley place a hand on his chest.
"Good. Welcome to my world." He said.
About two hours later, an emotionally drained bunch of teenagers were sat behind a make shift line, scared out of their minds. They didn't know what was going to happen to them, but Jimmy had caught Nathan with his phone, which he claimed not to have. He got mad and had waved the gun in their faces as Nathan dropped the phone onto the floor. Haley was scared for her husband's safety, and had held him tighter than she was already and he had wrapped his arms around her. He placed multiple kisses on the top of her head, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.
Abby, one of the students being held hostage, had been freed. She had diabetes, and needed her insulin. She was really sick. Jimmy had let her go after Haley had begged and pleaded with him to let her go. She needed her medication and had been let go.
Jimmy had promised them all that whoever stepped into that hallway would die. And as if on cue, a door in the hallway banged shut. He stepped into the hallway and Haley followed behind him.
"Jimmy!" She called after him.
"What the hell is this! The school is on lockdown!" He shouted.
"I know. Please, Jimmy. Don't do this." She tried convincing him to stop what he was doing.
"It's a little late for that."
"I know. But please, think about what you're doing. Do you really want this? For you? For your mom? For everyone this is going to hurt? Do you really want to do it, Jimmy?"
"It's alright for you, you're popular. You changed, Haley. You used to be one of us. But then you started dating that jerk, and you changed." And as if on cue, Nathan walked out to them.
"Don't blame her, man. She didn't want me at first." He spoke up.
"What the hell are you doing! I swear, I'm not kidding, I will use this gun." He warned.
"Jimmy, please. Don't think that my marriage hasn't been hard for me. We've had our fair share of problems. I made a mistake by going on tour, and I worked hard to get my marriage back on track. We've only just got everything sorted."
"But those things he said about you, on the time capsule. If we were dating and I said that, you'd have dumped me within a second. So why is it any different for him?"
"Because I love him. And he loves me. He was hurting when he said those things, and it was my fault. I brought it on myself."
"So everything's okay because you love each other! How is that fair?"
"I don't know. All I know is that I don't deserve Haley, man. She's so beautiful, and so far out of my league, but she loves me. She made me a better person. I'd probably still be a jackass if it wasn't for her."
"You are a jackass, man. You were one of those people who made my life a living hell. How many of those days do I get back? The days you made me feel like crap? Man, this is your fault. You made this happen." He was starting to get emotional, and he was now waving the gun at him again.
"I'm sorry, man."
"Sorry isn't gonna cut it."
And with that, one shot was fired. It was meant for her husband, but she jumped in front of it. She couldn't let him take the bullet. She would never live with the guilt. So she jumped. And she jumped in front of the bullet for the man that she loved.
"Haley!" A shout from behind her came as her hands flew to her stomach and found she was losing a lot of blood. "Haley, baby, stay with me." She knew it was Nathan, and she gripped his hand as tight as she could as she lay on the floor.
"I'm sorry. I love you." She whispered, as the world faded to black.
"Haley!" He shouted, as if it would bring her round. "Jimmy, man, what have you done!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her." He said hysterically.
"It's a little late for that, man. Look what you've done!" The raven haired boy cried, seeing no shame in his tears. "I've got to get her out of here."
"I didn't mean to hurt her." He said shakily.
"We know that, Jimmy." An average height man came into the school from a side door, Nathan instantly recognised him as his Uncle Keith.
"What the hell is this! The school is on lockdown!" He cried, waving his gun around in frustration.
"Please, Jimmy. Just, please, just let them go and you and I can talk about this. She's hurt, Jimmy." He said softly.
"I didn't mean it." He repeated his earlier words shaking the gun a bit.
"I know." Keith replied, walking further into the school and directly in front of Jimmy. The kid was breathing heavily and Keith knew he was scared, who wouldn't be? "Go on, Nate."
Nathan picked up Haley, and kept her in his arms, walking towards the exit in front of his uncle. But his uncle stopped in his tracks before he fully left the building. "Keith." He said simply.
"Nate." He sighed. "I love you, now go. Get her out of here."
He walked out of the school with Haley in his arms, feeling a slight guilt that he left his uncle and his classmates inside the school. But right now, he was focused on getting his wife out of here. What he didn't realise, was that back inside the school, his brother was going through the same thing.
Lucas had gotten Peyton out of the library; if she lost any more blood she was as good as dead. He forgot that the library doors slam themselves shut, and the noise rang through the school. He cursed himself as he quietly walked down the corridor to see his uncle and former best friend. They went through the same process of getting him out of there, before it was only Keith and Jimmy left in the hallway.
Outside, Nathan was carrying Haley in his arms out of the building. The SWAT team had instantly noticed movement and aimed their guns towards him. He held nothing against them; he knew it was just standard procedure. He walked towards the police officer without a gun, who held his arms out for Haley. He placed a light kiss on her forehead and whispered 'I love you' to her before placing her in the officers waiting arms so he could take her to the waiting ambulance.
He then got on his knees as ordered to by the officers around him, holding his hands in the air. He was tackled to the ground by an officer, who pulled his arms behind his back to make sure that he couldn't use any weapons he may have. They searched him thoroughly before they let him go, convinced he didn't have any weapons that could harm anyone.
As he got up, the sound of a shot rang through the air.
It came from inside the school, but nobody knew who had been shot. Had Jimmy killed Keith? Did Keith kill Jimmy? Or did Jimmy kill himself? Nobody knew. Nathan sure as hell hoped that it wasn't Keith that had been shot, if only for Lucas and Karen's sake.
He watched the mother and son as they embraced each other, once Lucas had got up from the ground as the officers searched him, too. He looked around and noticed that his father was paying him no attention, and didn't look like he cared that his son had just been held hostage by a gunman. He sighed and wished that he could have a relationship with his parents the way that Lucas did with Karen and Keith. He shrugged off the thought; his mom was a raving junkie and his dad was like Satan.
He looked around and saw his wife in her unconscious state being placed on a stretcher and taken into the ambulance. He figured since Haley was the only family he had now, that he would go with her. He jogged over to the ambulance and asked the paramedic if he was able to ride with them. The paramedic had asked his identity, claiming it was family only. He gave the medic his identity, telling her that Haley was his wife, and near enough begging to go with them. The young medic had seen the desperation in his eyes, and let him sit with his wife.
The ride to the hospital was only around fifteen minutes, but to Nathan it could have been fifteen hours and he wouldn't have noticed. Time was a blur to him at that moment. He was focused on his wife's health, and wanted nothing more than to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible so she had the best chance of survival. He was scared out of his wits for her; he couldn't imagine his life without her. She had changed him halfway through junior year, and he'd become a better person because of her. He was scared that if he lost her, he might just turn back into the person he despised. He was scared that he'd lose his wife, and that he'd never see her face again.
When they reached the hospital, Haley had been taken straight to surgery, and Nathan was told that he could do nothing more for the moment. The doctor had told him to get some rest, but he vowed he wasn't leaving Haley alone. He walked around the hospital for a while, not knowing what to do with himself, before he entered the hospital chapel. He wasn't the most religious of people, but he was hoping for a miracle, and so he sat on one of the pews and prayed for his wife's recovery.
He wiped a stray tear that ran down his cheek before realising it was pointless in doing so, because within seconds, the sound of his broken sobs filled the room.
She woke up several hours later with a pain in her stomach and nearly blinding herself with the bright lights she was staring at. She was unfamiliar with her surroundings, and blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the light. She was aware of the pains in her stomach, but she wasn't aware of why that was. She couldn't remember what had happened to her. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked around, only to see an empty room. Except for the one boy beside her. She knew that he would never leave her, and his eyes watered as hers did when he noticed her eyes were open.
"Haley, baby. Thank god you're alright." He breathed out, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"What...happened?" She stammered out, her throat dry and voice coming out hoarse.
"You don't remember?" She shook her head in response to his question before he answered her. "Jimmy Edwards brought a gun to school. He held you, Skills, Markus, Abby and Rachel hostage in the tutor centre before Mouth and I came to try and get you out. He pulled the gun out and held us all hostages. You followed him when he left the room to try and convince him not to hurt anybody and that it wasn't what he wanted.
"He said that it was my fault he never got a chance with you, and blamed me for the whole thing, because of my jackass ways before I met you. He tried to shoot me but you jumped in front of the bullet for me. You were unconscious when the ambulance arrived and have been out for about six hours now. I haven't left your side; I couldn't bring myself to leave you in case you woke up. I'm just so relieved to see your eyes open." He explained, placing another kiss on her forehead and gripping her hand tightly.
"Water." She breathed out. He reached over to the side of her bed and grabbed the cup of water she was requesting and brought it to her lips, aiding her drinking. She swallowed the liquid before she tried to speak again. "I'm sorry."
"You should be. Why take my bullet for me, Haley? You've got so much to live for." He spoke.
"I couldn't let myself watch you get shot. I had to do something. And I guess that meant taking your bullet and almost getting myself killed. But life wouldn't be worth living without you." She explained her defense and looked up to him.
"Haley, nice to see you're awake." The doctor said as she walked in the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got shot." She laughed slightly, before she felt a pain in her stomach again and stopped laughing.
"Well that's no surprise. Haley, are you aware of all of your injuries?" She asked.
"Nope."
"You lost a lot of blood from your stomach. We had to carry out a blood transfusion, to keep you alive. Unfortunately, the baby –"
"Wait, what? Baby?" She questioned, cutting the doctor off.
"Yes, baby. You weren't aware you were pregnant?"
"No, I had no idea. What do you mean, were?" Her eyes filled with tears at the mere implications.
"I'm sorry, Haley. You suffered a miscarriage." The doctor informed her.
"Oh." And that was all she could say. The tears began spilling over and rolling freely down her cheeks, as she looked over at Nathan, who also looked to be crying.
"I'm very sorry, Haley. I assure you we did everything we could to save both you and your child, but unfortunately, you miscarried before we could save the child. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." She replied, taking note of the young girls fragile state.
"No, thanks, though."
"Not a problem. If you need anything, give me a shout." The doctor nodded before she left the room and left the young couple to grieve on their own.
Hours had passed since the doctor had left the young couple alone, and neither one could say a word to each other. Neither one knew what to say. At first, they both cried. Nathan held her as she sobbed for the loss of their child, while trying to keep his own tears in check. Then, she had become numb. She didn't cry after that, she didn't scream, she didn't shout, she didn't do anything. She just lay there, mourning the loss she had just suffered.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, trying not to let the tears she felt pooling in her eyes once more fall down her cheeks.
"Why are you sorry? Haley, you didn't know you were pregnant. It wasn't your fault you had a miscarriage. It's nobody's fault." He replied, trying to soothe his wife.
"I know. But it's my fault for taking the bullet. It's my fault for following him. If I had just waited it out, we all could've made it out alive." She whispered, her voice becoming hoarse as she let a few stray tears stream her face.
"Don't apologize, Haley. There was nothing you could have done." He soothed.
"I love you, Nathan. And I wanted us to have a family together. I didn't know I was pregnant, but I would've been so happy when I found out. It may not have been the best timing, but we would've made it work. Because that's what we do. We take a situation and we make it work. You and I, against the world, side by side, just the two of us. And I wanted us to have a family." She sobbed.
"And we will have a family. Someday, I promise you, we will get our happy ending. I promise you that, Haley." And with that, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and held her once more as she cried.
Two years later, sophomore year of college
It had taken the Scott's nearly two years to get over the loss of their child. They were never truly over it, a part of them would always feel remorse and sorrow towards their loss, but they were starting to get their lives back on track.
They had kept the miscarriage from their friends and their family, apart from Lucas and Quinn, who respectively kept the two of them together. Their marriage almost reached breaking point during freshmen year of college, Haley was suffering from depression due to the loss of her child, and Nathan was still hurting too. It was hard for him to see his wife like that, but he couldn't do anything about it. The doctors had told him she may just wake up one day and feel better. Every day he woke up, he wished that she would feel better. He prayed for her day in and day out. He just wanted his wife back.
The troubles had come during the time she had depression, as their communication broke down and Haley refused to let anybody in. She was cutting herself off from the outside world, and it broke Nathan's heart to see her so sad. He'd tried talking to her, but she shut him out, too. That's when he'd called her sister.
He knew she was closest to Quinn out of all her siblings, and when he explained the whole situation to her, she felt she was inclined to help him out. Quinn had just graduated from college, and was traveling the world, so she made a detour of her trip and came home to Haley. She was the one to knock some sense into her, and her depression had soon been lifted. Quinn was just the person she needed to let in, and she had let her guard down for her older sister and told her everything she was feeling. She felt so much better after that, and had been working on her marriage ever since.
At the beginning of sophomore year, Haley discovered she was pregnant. She was still mourning the loss of her first child that never had a chance at life inside, but she was elated when the doctor confirmed her suspicions. Nathan was the first person she told, naturally, and he too was elated. They'd been planning the birth of their child for months now, and Haley was fast approaching her due date. She was due towards the end of the academic year, and as she had been getting closer to her due date, she stopped going to classes and took online classes instead.
She was now about two weeks from her due date, and her bag for the hospital was all packed, ready for when the time came. Nathan kept his phone on during classes in case of an emergency, and the teachers had allowed it for this one time.
She had been having minor pains in her back since that morning, and was suspicious that she was in early labor. Her suspicions had been confirmed when her waters had broken around the middle of that afternoon. Her first thought was to call Nathan, and that she did. He answered on the first ring, as caller ID allowed him to see that his wife was calling. He knew that she wouldn't call unless it was an emergency. She explained her situation, and he told her not to panic. He explained the situation to his teacher, who had allowed him to leave the class.
He grabbed her bag from their bedroom in their apartment, and had driven her to the hospital. She wasn't quite ready for delivery just yet, so they gave her a room on the maternity ward to keep her comfortable whilst her labor developed. It was a fair few hours before she was prepped for delivery, and the time couldn't have come fast enough for her.
After about an hour in the delivery room, she had finally given birth to their baby. They had a baby girl, and she weighed a mere six pounds and seven ounces. She was like a doll. The nurses had cleaned her up before wrapping her up in a pink blanket and handing her back to her mother. Her father had been by her mother's side the whole time, and they had both shed a tear when their little girl was placed in her arms. They smiled greatly before she finally spoke.
"Welcome to the world, Gabriela McKenzie Scott."
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