What is Meant to Be

By: Manna

PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these OTH characters, even though I'd like to. 

Nathan was waiting for Haley when she came out of the bathroom after dinner, "Hales…"

"Nathan, I'm fine," she pushes past him and heads for the kitchen.

He follows and finds her scraping the rest of her meal into the garbage. "You're not fine." He takes the plate from her and sets it on the counter. Then taking her hands into his, he steps closer and kisses them. "You've hardly had anything to eat all week."

"I'm eating," she looks away.

"Then promptly throwing up. I'm worried about you."

"I'm going to be fine. It's just a nasty bug," she tries to pull away.

"Nasty bug or not, you're going to the doctor. I'll make an appointment in the morning."

"You don't…"

"Yes, Hales, I do. Because I love you. And you're not going alone."

"Fine. Just let me do the dishes please."

"I'll do them. You just go rest."

Nathan paces around the examination room as Haley calmly watches, "Honey, the doctor doesn't seem concerned. I'm going to be fine.

"I don't buy it."

"Nathan…" they hear the door click and the doctor enters the room.

Nathan stops in his tracks, "So doctor?"

"Mr. Scott, there's good news and there's 'other' news," Haley and Nathan look at each other, "The good news is, your wife is going to be fine. The 'other' news is, it's going to be about 8 months. You're going to be parents."

Nathan hugged Haley, "That's great."

Haley pushes away from Nathan, "No! That can't be. We were careful."

"Sorry Mrs. Scott, the test results were very clears. You're pregnant. I suggest you make an appointment very soon to see me again. Then we can get a better idea of when you're due. I'll leave the tow of you now."

Nathan shook Dr. Small's hand, "Thank you." He then turns back to his wife who has her hands in her head in her hands crying. "It's going to be okay Hales."

"This can't be happening Nathan."

"But it is Hales. I think it's wonderful."

Haley stands up, "I'm leaving," and darts out of the room.

Nathan stands in shock. Rushing out the door after her he shouts, "Hales!" as she turns the corner. When he reaches the parking lot Nathan is not surprised to see that Haley, and the car, were gone. Reaching for his cell phone he dials the now familiar number, "Lucas?"

Haley sits on the pier, slowly rocking back and forth. This couldn't be happening. They hadn't talked a lot about kids. Just enough to agree to wait. They were only beginning their senior year. And college was ahead of them for next fall. I don't want this baby she thought silently. She didn't even want to face Nathan right now. There was only one place to turn - Peyton.

Nathan slid into the passenger seat of his brother's car, "Thanks man."

Lucas looked at him, "No problem. Is everything okay?"

"I don't know. Haley and I had a fight."

"All couples fight."

"Yeah, I know that. But she's never before said she was leaving. Then to top it off, she actually left me stranded here."

"Wow, that doesn't sound like the Haley Scott I know."

"Me either. I'm scared Lucas."

"Can I ask what you fought about?"

Nathan looked out the window as they got closer to the apartment. Lucas knew enough to just sit quietly. As they pulled up to the building, Nathan turned to Lucas, "She's not here."

"She'll be back. If you need anything though, call me."

"Thanks."

Peyton turns as she hears someone step into her bedroom. Seeing a tear-streaked Haley she stands up, "Haley?"

"Oh Peyton," Haley hugs her, "I didn't know where else to go."

"What's wrong?" Haley started crying again, "Come on, let's sit down." She hands her friend a tissue, "Now tell me what happened."

"Nathan and I had a fight."

"You've had fights before." Peyton tries to reassure her, "You'll work through this one too."

"I don't think so."

"Be positive. You love each other, you can make anything work."

"I told him I was leaving, and left him standing in the parking lot."

Peyton's eyes got big, "You want a divorce?"

"What!? No. Maybe. I don't know." She starts to cry again.

"Haley, look at me. Do you love him?"

"Of course."

"Is he abusing you?" Peyton hoped to God the answer was no.

"No, never."

Peyton hated this," Is he cheating on you?" she asked reluctantly.

Haley's eyes got wide, "No. Why? Do you know something?"

"No Haley. I'm just trying to figure out why you left your husband. Why you're here, instead of with him trying to work things out."

"Peyton, I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"That we made a mistake. I don't know if we can make it."

"Haley, I know it's only been 6 months, but you're doing it. You want it to work. Don't you? He loves you Haley, and he always will."

"I can't do this."

"Be married?"

"Be pregnant."

"Is that what this is about? You're pregnant."

"Yes. But I don't want a baby Peyton."

Peyton didn't expect this, she was happy for them, but she knew she couldn't show it right now, "Where did you leave Nathan?"

"At the doctor's office."

"Was he mad?"

"No, he was overjoyed. That's the problem. He REALLY wants this. I don't."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Go back 6 months and realize I'm too young to be married."

"Seriously?"

"I don't know. But I do know that I don't want to go home."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Please don't tell anyone I'm here."

"I won't your secret's safe with me."

At midnight Lucas heard the ring he'd been waiting for all day, "Nathan. I'm glad you called."

"Lucas, can you come over?"

not liking the shakiness in his brother's voice, he responded, "On my way." He sped the entire way to the apartment, worried about what he might find. It wasn't pretty. "What are you doing Nathan?" Nathan was sitting at the table in his boxers, with a notebook, surrounded by bottles of alcohol. "Where's Haley?" He looks around.

"She left me Lucas."

"Yes, in the parking lot, I know."

Nathan looks at his brother, "I'm not drunk. Haven't had a sip. Thought about it. Really wanted to, but I haven't," he looks down to hide a tear. "She really left me. She nave came home," he looks up, "Have you heard from her?"

"You'd know if I had bro." Lucas sat down. "This is serious. What happened?"

"Haley's pregnant. She left me. I'll never get to see my baby."

"Is that what you fought about?"

"It wasn't really a fight. I said I was happy. She said she was leaving and did. I'm worried about her Lucas."

"Haley's a smart girl. I'm sure she's fine."

"But I'm not. I need her. I love her. I want my wife back."

"Give her a day or two. She'll be back. She loves you too."

"I hope you're right. I've been sitting here, trying to think about what I did wrong. I don't regret getting married."

"I know you don't. But remember one VERY important thing. You're married because you love each other. And this baby is a symbol of your love for each other."

"Thanks Lucas."

Nathan walked home from work, thinking about the past week. He hadn't seen Haley since the previous Monday at the doctor's office. He'd stayed home on Tuesday, waiting for her to come back, but she didn't. only reluctantly had he returned to work the rest of the week. Keith hadn't asked any questions, but had offered to lean him a vehicle until things got better, but Nathan refused. He wanted to remember that things weren't right in his life right now, when they should me more right than ever. He trudged up the steps and through the front door straight to the bedroom. He didn't notice that someone had cleaned, or even that the TV was on.

Haley sat quietly on the sofa as Nathan walked by, waiting for him to notice what she'd done.

Nathan finished changing and laid on the bed for a nap. He was so tired. Not sleeping for a week was starting to hit him. He's laid on his side every night since she left, looking at her pillow, missing her. Nathan sat up suddenly, noticing a brown teddy bear sitting on her pillow, holding a piece of paper. His hands shaking, he picked up the note and read, "I love you daddy." Standing up and tears running down his face he yelled, "Haley?!" He ran into the living room and found her standing in front of the sofa, a tear rolling down her face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, never wanting to let go. "God I missed you."

"I missed you too," she kisses him, softly at first. Then she deepens the kiss and pulls him down to the sofa. Running a hand through his hair, the other strays lower.

Nathan slowly slid a hand up her shirt. Then just as suddenly as it had started, he pulled away. "Haley, I can't do this."

"Nathan, don't do this. Everything's okay now."

"Are you serious?" Nathan looked sadly at his wife, "I don't know what your week was like, nor do you mine. It was hell Haley. I find out that I'm going to have a baby with my wife whom I happen to love more that anything. Only to have her deny it and say she's leaving - then literally leaves me behind. I haven't slept since because I read for my wife, my marriage, and my baby. Our baby."

"Nathan…"

"I can respect that you needed time, but you didn't even call. Lucas said you'd be back. I wanted to leieve him, believe in us, but it became harder everyday."

"Nathan, I made a mistake. I should've called. You've got every right to be upset."

"You're right about that."

"Nathan. Don't be like this. I want things to be right with us. What can I do."

"You can talk to me. Tell me why you left."

"I was scared Nathan. We just started our senior year of high school, and we've been married for 6 months. People don't get married in high school."

"But we did. Do you regret that? Because I don't."

"No, I'm fine with it. I love you. But now we're going to have a baby, before we have diplomas."

"I'm okay with that."

"But what about college Nathan?"

"We'll still go. We can make it work. There's one thing that I've learned in the last year. The marriage of my parent's was a mistake from the beginning. Dan didn't do right by Karen with Lucas. Even though I'm pretty sure now that he still loved her. So, he married my mom because she was pregnant with me. They weren't in love. They were knocked up. Haley, we got married because we love each other. And now, we're going to do what married people do. We're starting a family."

"But Nathan, we wanted to wait."

"I know Haley. We were careful. But, obviously, this was meant to be. We were meant to get married in high school. Now we're meant to have a baby in high school. This wouldn't be happening if we couldn't handle it."

"Nathan, you're wonderful. You know how to make a girl feel great. I was with Peyton all week. She couldn't figure out why I wasn't here, celebrating, with you. I couldn't figure it out either. I was scared. She told me over and over that you would support me and love me, no matter what. I knew, in my heart, that she was right. I love you, and I always will. I never want to be away from you again."

"Are you sure Haley?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I want to start a family with you Nathan Scott."

Nathan laughed, "That's good, especially since Baby Scott's in there right now." He kissed her forehead and placed a hand on Haley's belly.

Haley smiled, "Brooke's going to love this."

"Hales, I need to make a phone call," and he stepped out of the moment.

Haley lost her smile, what was wrong? She wondered this silently as Nathan left the room. Then she heard her husband's voice drift in from the next room, "Lucas, she came home. I'm going to be a daddy." She could tell he was smiling, just by the tone in his voice, and she couldn't help but smile too.

THE END