Prologue:

Dan Scott and Karen Roe had been dating each other ever since junior year. They were even voted best couple for the yearbook. And it was true that they were pretty happy together, but as we all know, all love stories have their fair share of obstacles, and theirs was no exception.

The first bump in the road came at the beginning of the first year of college when Karen discovered that she was pregnant. Scared and not knowing what to do, she confided everything to Dan, one rainy afternoon in October. Dan was as shocked as Karen had been and they had spent many days sitting together and pondering over what to do next. Eventually, they decided that giving the baby up was something that neither of them could come to terms with, so, despite the anger the came from both sides of the family, Dan and Karen married and moved into a small apartment shortly before the baby was born.

The following summer Karen gave birth to a baby Lucas. Karen and Dan fell in love with the baby boy immediately, basking in all the joys that came with being a parent. Nevertheless, raising a child so young and with such little money, proved to be increasingly difficult. There was always so much that needed to be done. It was as if the couple was forced to grow up prematurely, to give up the fun that came with being young and carefree.

One day, after a particularly nasty fight with Karen, Dan went to a drive. Feeling sorry for himself, he drove to the nearest bar. There he ran into his old friend from high school, Deb Lee and ended up telling her everything about what led him to end up at that bar, alone on a weekday. Deb sympathized with Dan and the two proceeded to get embarrassingly drunk. One way or another, the pair ended up going back to Dan's car, where they spent the next hour and a half.

That night, Dan went back home, appalled at what he had just done. A dishevelled Karen waited for him, apologizing for all the things she had said during their fight. She looked so sorry and so upset, that Dan didn't have the heart to tell her what he had been doing earlier that night. The couple made up and went on living much like they had always lived, except for Dan's ever present feeling of guilt. However, Dan was convinced that Karen would divorce him and never let him near Lucas again if she found out the truth, so he decided to forget about what had happened and never bring it up again. But then, two months later, Dan got the phone call that changed his life.

"I'm pregnant," Deb cried over the phone.

There was no way around it- Dan was forced to tell Karen what had happened. Karen reacted much like Dan expected her to react. She screamed and yelled and then she took Lucas and went back to her parents' house. Dan pleaded with Karen, begging her to forgive him and move on, but Karen was set on shutting Dan out of her life.

Meanwhile, Deb was also busy making plans concerning the rest of her life. One day, after Dan had spent a few days living alone in the small apartment, they met up over coffee.

"Dan, I have something to tell you," Deb said. "I'm not going to keep the baby."

"What?" Dan started. "No, you can't give him up for adoption."

"I'm not putting him up for abortion," Deb replied, gazing intently at Dan.

"What? No! That's even worse!" Dan cried.

"Dan, I'm sorry, but what else can I do? I want to pursue my career after I graduate from college. A baby would throw everything off balance."

"And you don't feel guilty doing this?"

"Of course, I do, but I have to think about my future here," Deb sighed.

"What about the baby's future?" Dan asked sullenly.

"What can I do?" Deb repeated, also looking sad.

"Wait," Dan said, an idea suddenly coming to him. "Deb, I know this might be a lot to ask, but what if I took the baby after it was born."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Deb blurted out.

"Why not? I already have one kid. Another one couldn't be that hard."

"As far as I recall, what happened between was because you were trying to get away from that kid," Deb pointed out.

"I was stupid," Dan sighed. "I didn't think about what was truly important. But now..."

"Dan, what makes you think Karen would ever agree to something like this?"

"Because I know the woman I married," Dan said, with an air of finality.

That night, Dan drove up to Karen's parents' house. Walking up the front porch, he was desperately trying to calm his racing heart. Dan rang the doorbell once, praying desperately that it was Karen, and not one of her parents, that answered.

"Karen," Dan said after seeing her open the door, a baby Lucas in her arms. "I know what I did was wrong..."

"Go away, Dan," Karen cut him off.

"No, Karen, please, just hear me out. Listen to what I have to say," Dan begged.

That is how, on one unusually warm day in late September, Nathan Scott was born. Dan had convinced Deb to carry him out until her due date, after which he and Karen would take the boy. Deb would move away to live with her parents, who had bought a condo in Florida- she would play no role in Nathan's life. That was exactly how she wanted it to be.

Karen spent a lot of time talking to Dan and finally decided that she still loved him despite everything he had done. She moved back in with Dan and agreed to raise Nathan as if he were her own. In fact, the only people to know that Nathan wasn't her biological child would be her and Dan. Karen adopted Nathan as soon as he was born. That day, she stood in the hospital with a new born Nathan in her arms, cuddling him softly.

"Hi, Nathan," she cooed. "I'm your mommy."