Chapter 1

Like a statue he stood, staring at the ground which now held his uncle's body. Everyone else had left for Karen's hours ago, but still he stood unmoving staring at Keith's grave. Since he and Haley had signed the divorce papers six months ago, nothing had gone right. He had lost his balance. His uncle, a man he'd never really gotten to know, was dead. How was he, how were they all supposed to move on? All he felt was a sense of being unbalanced like a great many things were off center. So there he stood, hands at his sides, staring. Until her hand slipped into his and squeezed gently. He looked up, to meet Haley's red eyes and tear streaked face.

"Nathan." She whispered.

"Haley, thank you for coming."

"Always, you know that, always for you. God, Nathan, what happened?" She asked staring at the headstone. "I heard about the shooting."

"Jimmy Edwards happened. He shot Keith." After a pause he said, "we should head over to Karen's, she'll, they'll all want to see you."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"I am now." Taking her hand to lead her from the place he'd been standing for hours. "I've missed you."

"Oh, Nathan, I've missed you too. I think about you all the time." The two walked in silence. Once they reached the car, she turned back to him. "I was thinking, the tour is over and the new semester is starting soon."

"Are you saying you'll move back?"

"If you want me to."

"I do. I really do."

"Ok, I'll look for an apartment while I'm here."

"You can stay with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Stop asking me if I'm sure. I still love you. I want to give us another chance. I said as much on the phone. What do you think?"

"Alright, let's try us again." She looked up they had arrived at Karen's house. "So, are we just gonna sit here or go in?"

"We'll go in, in just a minute, first. . ." He leaned over to kiss her softly.

Meanwhile inside the house. . .

"Hey it looks like Nathan finally showed up." Brooke stated as she walked into the kitchen where Lucas, Peyton, Karen, Deb, and Mouth had been hiding. "And it looked like he wasn't alone." Everyone looked up at this.

"Who's he with?" Whispered Lucas.

"Well this is going to sound crazy, but I could of sworn it was . . ."

"Haley!" Peyton exclaimed hobbling towards the girl in question who had appeared in the kitchen with Nathan and hugged her tightly.

"Peyton, it's good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing ok."

"P. Sawyer, stop hogging her! We all want turns." Brooked shouted before stepping forward to hug her. "Tutorgirl, I'm so glad you're back!"

"Me to, Brooke. Karen, I. . ." She trailed of as Karen engulfed her in a hug then passed her onto Lucas. "Luke, how are you holding up?"

"I'm holding tightly." Once everyone had hugged her, she gravitated back to Nathan's side slipping her hand once again into his larger one. A gesture which did not go unnoticed by the others in the room.

"What's going on with you two?" Deb asked casually.

"Umm. . ." Haley looked to Nathan, who responded:

"We're giving us another try."