A/N: Okay guys. This is my first ever fic, so PLEASE forgive me for the writing style, etc. It will get better as you read on.

It's set in the missing four weeks we didn't see, from Lucas's wedding - 5x13, and then I'm planning on going further with little snippets of scenes (to make up for the lack of NH scenes in late S5... lol!) and then onto S6, etc. I won't go AU, but will have (hopefully) cute extras that weren't on screen, but will tie into what we did see. Not sure how far I'll go, might be continuous depending on if people enjoy it! I've written a couple of chapters of this story so far, but I don't want to keep going if no one reads it. So PLEASE read and review, future chapters should hopefully get better... I wrote these a little while ago but only got the courage to upload & publish them now.

You'll notice that it jumps between Haley's thoughts and Nathan's, but hopefully you'll get the gist of who's narrating what when you read the first sentence of that section.

I'll say it again: please review! I won't bother continuing with the story if I don't get at least a couple of reviews. Whether it's positive or negative feedback, please do it. If you do read it and like it and review it, I'll try and update regularly!

I grabbed Jamie's hand to take him back into the house, away from Dan, and from Lucas and Nathan who had obviously just been fighting him. But I felt Jamie slow down. He let go of my hand, turned around and spoke.

"Grandpa... thank you."

I was shocked. Dan may have gotten Jamie back, but he was in no position to be thanked. Not by my son. I grabbed Jamie's hand and ushered him into the house. I caught Nathan's eye - he looked as bewildered as I was at Jamie's thank you to Dan.

I took Jamie back into the house to all the rest of the people in there, who were all discussing both the shock of Dan being the person to take Jamie home and their great relief about Jamie actually being safe. Brooke looked up from her conversation with Peyton and ran over and hugged me. I hugged her back.

"I am so glad he's safe, Haley. Everything's okay now," she said soothingly.

Not really, I thought.

"Hey buddy!" she squeezed Jamie. "You don't know how happy I am to see you safe!"

"Well I'm home now, I'm fine!" he replied. I watched him hug Brooke. I didn't want to stop looking at him - I was so scared that if I looked away for a second he could be snatched away again.

"Haley, we're gonna take off now. I'm so glad he's safe. We all are," she said.

"I know," I said, smiling at her and giving her a hug goodbye. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye Haley. Take care, I'll call you soon," said Peyton as she hugged me.

Everyone else followed after them out the door, saying goodbye to me and telling Jamie how happy they were to see him safe. Skills gave Jamie a huge bear-hug.

"I'm sorry, little man. You got no idea how much. So glad you're safe. See you soon." He looked up at me, looking so unsure, and then went out the door.

Karen, Andy and Lily were the only ones left, and as Lily was saying goodbye to Jamie, Karen gave me a hug.

"Oh, Haley. I know today has been awful for you. But you can relax now. He's fine. He's safe."

"I know he is. I was just... I was just so scared."

"I know, sweetie. We all were. We'll get going now, we're leaving Tree Hill in a couple days but we'll see you before then."

"Yeah, definitely. Thanks Karen. Bye Andy, and Lily," I said, waving them goodbye as Lucas and Nathan came in the door.

"Mom, you leaving?" asked Lucas.

"Yeah, we'll see you at home," Karen said, giving him a hug. "I love you, kid."

"Uncle Lucas!" exclaimed Jamie, running to him as Lucas picked him up and hugged him. Karen, Andy and Lily left.

"Oh, I am so happy you're safe, buddy," said Lucas, embracing Jamie.

"So where's aunt Lindsey?" he asked innocently.

I looked at Lucas. He looked pretty upset at the mention of her name.

"Well, buddy, Lindsey's gone away for a little while, but she'll be back," said Lucas. I caught his eye. Who was he kidding? "Right, I'm gonna go put some ice on my hand," he said, and went through to the kitchen. I noticed the cuts on his knuckles. Jamie followed him through. I looked at Nathan's hand and, sure enough, there on his right knuckles were grazes.

"Do you need ice, too?" I asked quietly.

"No, it's okay. Is it.. is it okay with you if I come around tomorrow?" he asked me nervously.

"Yeah, of course," I said. "Jamie would love that."

"Jamie would love that," Nathan sighed quietly.

"Nathan, I - "

"It's okay, Hales. Can I talk to him before I leave?" he asked. There was despair in his eyes.

"You don't have to ask my permission, Nathan," I said. "He's your son."

"He's our son," Nathan said.

"Nathan - "

"Forget it, I'm sorry Haley. I shouldn't be making you feel like this. I'll go talk to him then I'll get going."

I said nothing. I don't know why I didn't. I just watched him go through to the kitchen, with so much sadness in his eyes.

I heard them talking and then Nathan, carrying Jamie, and Lucas came through to where I was, Lucas with an ice pack on his hand.

"We're gonna take off now," Lucas said. "Bye, buddy," he said to Jamie. "You take care of your mom, and don't let her worry about you okay?"

"All right," he said. "Are you going too daddy?" He looked up at Nathan. I could tell Nathan was struggling not to let his eyes catch mine.

"Yeah, Jamie, I'm going to Uncle Lucas's. But I'm gonna come over tomorrow and see you, okay buddy?"

"Okay," Jamie said sadly. "I miss you, daddy," he added quietly.

"I miss you too, son. I love you. So much, more than you could possibly ever know, okay?" Nathan said, kissing the top of Jamie's head. "You be good. And don't ever leave your mom's sight, you hear me?"

"I hear you daddy. I love you too."

"Bye Haley," said Lucas.

"Bye, Luke. About today... I'm so sorry about Lindsey, I haven't really been able to talk to you about that, what with Jamie..."

"Haley, forget about it! I understand. Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow sometime."

"Okay," I said, giving him a hug. "Bye."

Nathan put Jamie down and then looked at me. I gave him a half-smile and said "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

I looked into his eyes. His gorgeous, blue eyes. He was looking intensely back at me. He suddenly walked over to me and embraced me with a hug. I hugged right back, my arms around his neck, as if I was clinging onto him for dear life. I felt safe in his arms. I felt safe with him here. After a few moments he let me go, and looked into my eyes longingly. I looked back up at him.

"Bye, Nathan," I whispered.

"Bye Hales."

And out the door they went.

"Momma, I'm tired," said Jamie.

"Oh, buddy, of course you are, you've had a horrible day," I said. I walked over to him and gave him a big hug. "I can't believe I almost lost you." Tears started filling up in my eyes. I clung to him tighter, as though doing so would stop him from disappearing.

"But you didn't lose me momma, I'm right here," he said.

"I know you are, Jamie. And I'm so, so happy. How about you come sleep in my bed tonight, huh?" I suggested.

"Yes please, I don't wanna be by myself," he answered.

The tears started rolling down my face. "Oh, don't worry about that, buddy. I won't leave you alone. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he said. I was so relieved that he was in my arms. This day had gone on for so long. It didn't seem like just this morning that me, Jamie and Luke were driving around.

As I waited outside the bathroom for Jamie to clean his teeth and get ready for bed, I thought about Nathan. About how when I said I wanted a divorce just over a week ago I of course didn't mean it. I was just in such a state of shock at the fact that Jamie had just been lying face down in the pool. I said it because I was already so mad at Nathan and the fact that we had been arguing instead of watching Jamie when he fell in the pool just made me even more angry at him, so I said I wanted a divorce. I had seen how hurt he looked, but at that moment all I cared about was making sure Jamie was okay.

I thought about the fact that Carrie had kissed Nathan. Even thinking about her now that she had taken Jamie made me even more angry. I knew the kiss was obviously her fault, and her doing - not Nathan's. I knew he wouldn't do that. But I didn't know what to believe, especially as he had lied about it. He didn't tell me until I asked him about it, and the fact that he'd kept quiet about it was as bad as the fact that it happened.

I thought about the fact that at Lucas and Lindsey's bachelor/bachelorette party I told Nathan I was done trying with him. When I said it, I was in such a confused state of mind because Jamie was still so upset about him being gone, and Skills had just told me that it was in fact me who had lost sight of things when it came to our family. So when I told Nathan I was done trying, I was just confused. It was true in a way - I was fed up of him always having something to apologise for. The accident and the darkness he went into for months afterwards was so hard on me, and only a few weeks later he had slipped up again. I really was tired of it.

I thought about later that night when I overheard Nathan talking to Jamie in his bed. They missed eachother. They missed living in the same house. I thought to myself - they shouldn't be feeling this way. They should both be here. Hearing Nathan tell Jamie that it wasn't because of me that he couldn't come home surprised me - it was because of me. But Nathan knew that he had done wrong, and hearing him admit that to his son just reminded me of the fact that it wasn't wrong of me to 'try and change' him. He was such an amazing man.

But I was still not ready to have him back. I wasn't sure why, but I just felt a bit insecure having him around after all of it. We had hardly gotten back to normal after he recovered from the accident when Carrie started messing things up, and the thought of him keeping quiet about the flirting just made me not ready to have Nathan come home. I didn't know when that would be.

"Hey, man, you alright?" Luke asked me in the car back to his place. He looked at me from the road and saw me with my head in my hands.

"Yeah, man, I'm good," I replied. Pretty unconvincingly, I guess.

"Nate, I know confusing it is with Dan being the one to save Jamie and all... Hell, I'm confused too. But just be glad that Jamie is back safe."

"Yeah, that's just something else to add to the list of a crap day. My son went missing. Haley told me I should have been with him, and started blaming herself for not letting me home. My murderer father brought Jamie home from being kidnapped by the crazy bitch who I should have fired weeks ago. And Haley is still being distant, and I have to visit Jamie tomorrow. Visit. I shouldn't have to visit my own house, man."

Lucas just looked at me. "I'm sorry man. Not much I can say. This has not been a good day."

"Oh, Luke, man, I'm sorry. I'm making it all about me. Look... what happened when you went to go get Lindsey?"

"She left."

"Lucas, if she really is the person you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with, she will come back."

"Thanks, man."

We drew up at the house. When we walked in, Karen, Andy and Lily were in the living room.

"Hey boys," Karen greeted us.

"Hey Karen," I replied.

"You guys want me to make you some hot chocolate?" she asked us.

"That'd be great, mom," Luke said to her.

"And Nathan?" she asked me.

"Uh.. sure, thanks," I said. Anything beat going to bed - correction, the couch - alone.

"Hey, Lily," said Luke, beginning to play with his little sister. I just watched them. What I wouldn't give to be home with Jamie and Haley.

"You alright, man?" asked Andy.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good," I said.

"Well, it's understandable that you're going to be pretty sensitive when it comes to kids, after what happened with your son today," he said. He was right. Seeing Lily just made me want to know Jamie was safe. Hearing Haley tell me that Jamie was missing today outside the church was almost as scary as last week when we saw him face-down in the pool. Even thinking about it made me anxious.

"Yeah, you're right. God... I don't ever want to feel that way again. I want my son to be safe."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm so protective over Lily, and she's not even my daughter. She's a little angel. I was so worried today, I can't imagine what it would have been like to be you. Just be glad that he's home safe, Nathan. That's all you can do," Andy said, trying to reassure me.

"Here's hot chocolate!" Karen came through with mugs of hot chocolate for all of us.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I didn't really want to talk about Jamie anymore. It made me feel horrible.

I spent the next hour just sitting in the living room watching Luke, Karen, Andy and Lily all play and talk together. They often tried to include me, but they could tell I wasn't really in the mood so didn't pressurize me. They just wanted me to feel better.

"Well, it's well past your bedtime, missy," said Andy, picking up Lily. "But I guess it's okay since it's a special occasion - you get to spend some time with Lucas!"

"Yep! I miss you when we're away, Lucas," she said to him.

"You too, sis," said Lucas.

I was surprised at how strong he'd been all evening. He had been left alone at the alter today, and after talking to her he'd been left by her again. Why was it that he managed to do so much better after such a horrible day than me? It made me feel even more weak and worthless. They all went to bed, and I was left on the couch. Another night. Alone. I put on a pair of pyjama bottoms and an old T-shirt, turned the light out and lay on the couch. I didn't even bother fetching the blanket. So many thoughts darted through my mind, all of them concerning blaming myself for the day's events. Then I began thinking what could have happened if Dan hadn't brought Jamie back. If Carrie had kept him. We would maybe never have seen him again, and it would all be my fault. Tonight's sleep was going to be restless.

"Nathan! Nathan, you okay?"

I opened my eyes and found myself panting, out of breath. I was on the floor next to the couch, and I could feel sweat on my face. I remembered that I had just had a nightmare - Carrie was walking out of the church holding Jamie and when I ran after them they sped up and I couldn't catch up. Jamie was crying and calling out "Momma! Daddy!" but Carrie kept running. When we turned the corner we were at the river court, and Carrie was stepping onto a small boat with Jamie and he had tape over his mouth. Carrie was threatening to throw him into the water. That was the last part of the dream I remembered.

"Sorry man, bad dream," I said to Lucas, who was hovering next to me. It was morning.

"Oh yeah? About what?" he asked, concerned.

"Uh... nothing," I replied, embarrassed that he had seen me having a nightmare.

"Come on, man, you were shouting. It sounded really bad."

I realised that I was still lying on the floor, so I got up and sat on the couch.

"That Carrie was taking Jamie and about to throw him in the water," I replied, shakily.

"Oh, man. That's horrible. But Jamie's okay, remember that. You'll be seeing him in a couple hours," he said.

"Yeah," I replied shortly. I went to go get changed.

I woke up with a start. I had had a scary dream, but I couldn't really remember it. All I knew was that I woke up with a jerk of my leg muscle and was so relieved to see Jamie sleeping soundly by my side. I kissed the top of his head. Yesterday had been one of the worst days of my life, and knowing that he wouldn't have come home if it weren't for Dan made me shudder. For the next little while - scratch that, for the rest of time - I was going to protect Jamie with every ounce of strength I had. Nothing bad was ever going to happen to him again. Ever.

I looked at my phone to check the time, and my phone started to ring. I noticed Jamie stirring beside me.

I looked at the name that was flashing up on the screen: Nathan.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey."

"So... is it still okay if I come over today? To... to see Jamie."

"Yeah, sure."

"What time do you want me to come?"

"Um, whenever... how about 12?"

"Okay, see you then."

"Bye."

I felt so stupid. I should not have been having an awkward conversation with my husband. But I didn't know how else to be.

Jamie was awake now.

"Was that daddy?" he asked happily.

"Yep, that was daddy," I replied.

"Is he coming over today?" he eagerly asked me.

"Yep, you'll get to see him in a couple of hours!" I said, trying to match his excited tone, but failing miserably.

"He won't be staying though, will he," he said, a bit more down-hearted.

"No, buddy, not today," I replied. "But hey, what do you say we get up and I can make you pancakes for breakfast!" I said, trying to make him feel better.

"Whatever," he said, getting up and going to the bathroom.

I sighed. I hated being the bad guy in all of this. But I was just going to have to deal with it. At that moment I was just so happy that Jamie was safe, and so I decided to stop spending too much time worrying about being the bad guy.

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door.

"Daddy!" Jamie yelled and ran to answer the door. I stayed sitting at the breakfast bar.

I heard him answer the door and squeal when Nathan picked him up.

"Hey buddy!" I heard him say. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine. Wanna play?" he asked him eagerly.

Nathan walked into the kitchen, still carrying Jamie, and looked at me.

"Sure, Jamie. Downstairs or upstairs?"

"In my room, I can't be bothered to take toys down," said Jamie, smiling.

"All right, lazy bones," said Nathan, putting him down. "I'll be right up."

I realised that him saying that meant he wanted to talk to me.

"How's he been?" he asked me.

"He's been fine... a lot better than me, actually," I replied. "When I ask him about it, he just doesn't really say anything and says that Grandpa Dan saved him and that he's okay."

"Dan. God. Okay, well if he talks about it, I'll let you know," he said, looking at me unsurely, and then turned to walk upstairs.

I was so happy to be with Jamie. Just seeing him smile, feeling him wanting to be picked up, hearing him laugh and speak... it was amazing. I had spent the last 12 or so hours longing to be in a room with him, to be able to protect him, just in case. I'd been playing with him in his room for nearly two hours when I decided to ask him about the kidnapping.

"So, Jamie, are you okay after yesterday?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said happily. "I was rescued by Grandpa Dan."

"Yes, Jamie, I know. And we're all so happy that you're safe now, but... it's okay to talk about it. If you're scared it will happen again, tell us, or if you're upset about all of it, it's okay to cry and talk to mommy or daddy."

"I don't need to cry. I'm fine! I want to see Grandpa Dan," he said.

"Jamie... I don't think you'll be seeing Grandpa Dan again. I'm sorry, but he's not a good man."

"But daddy, you said that you were on a time-out because you'd been bad. And I still get to see you!" he said.

"Not as bad as Grandpa Dan, Jamie, trust me."

Jamie continued fiddling with a toy dinosaur. "Okay. So... is your time-out almost over daddy?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know, Jamie. I hope so."

"You said that last week. I miss you, daddy," he said.

Way to break my heart even further, I thought.

"I miss you too, James. So much. And I love you. But don't be too upset, cause I'm still going to see you every single day if that's okay with your mom, okay?" I said putting my arm around him, trying to reassure him.

"Okay." He hugged me tightly. We held on to eachother for a couple of minutes, when my phone started to buzz in my pocket.

"Sorry Jamie, that's my phone," I said, reaching into my pocket.

"Who is it?" he asked excitedly. Phonecalls always made him excited for some reason.

"It's your uncle Lucas! Hey, man," I said, answering the call.

"Hey Nate. Mom's making dinner, but I haven't got any pasta at the house. Could you pick some up on your way home? Like... as soon as possible?" Lucas said.

"Sure man, I'll come right now. See you soon," I said, before hanging up the phone.

"Are you leaving now, daddy?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, man. Sorry. But I'll go downstairs and ask your mom when it's good for me to come tomorrow, okay?" I said.

I went downstairs, Jamie following me.

"Momma! What time can daddy come over tomorrow?" he asked Haley.

"Oh sweetie, I don't know. Same time?" she suggested, not looking at me but at Jamie.

"But what about school?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking that you might want to take a few days off school, after what happened yesterday," she said to him.

"Mom, I don't want to stay off school! I like school!" Jamie retorted.

"Well you definitely got that from your mom and not from me," I commented, hoping to get a smile out of Haley. Instead she kept talking to Jamie.

"Jamie, you went through a really bad experience. I think staying off school would be a good thing," she said firmly.

"Mom, I don't want to!" Jamie said, getting mad.

"Jamie, how about you go start tidying upstairs, and I'll talk to your mom, okay?" I said, trying to prevent an argument.

"Okay," he said, trailing off upstairs.

"You really think it's a good idea to keep him off school?" I asked her.

"Well... yeah, I do. It was a traumatic experience, and I think he needs a few days to get over it," she said.

"He needs a few days to get over it, or you do?" I said carefully, not wanting to tread on any toes.

She looked at me, and sighed.

"You're right. Ugh, you're right." She sighed again. "I already called Principal Turner to tell him I wouldn't be in for the next few days and he understood. I just don't want to be apart from him, I hate letting him out of my sight," she said nervously.

"He's been out of your sight for the past few hours, and you've been okay," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but he was in the house, and he was with you," she said, looking up at me.

Even those few, simple words gave me hope.

"Well how about he goes to school tomorrow, and you just spend the day trying to relax and feel better about it all," I said. "I think keeping him off school for a few days would just make you not want to let him go back after those days, and that wouldn't be good. And he obviously wants to go."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. Well how about you come over in the evening then, around six. You can spend time with him a while before bed," she suggested.

"Okay, sounds good. Thanks, Hales," I said, turning to leave. I was almost at the door when she spoke.

"For what?"

"What?" I asked.

"You said thank you, and I'm asking, for what?" she said.

"For letting me come over and spend time with Jamie. I know it's hard, with us... but..."

"Yeah... it's okay. He misses you, so it's good for you to spend time with him," she said.

I nodded at her, and left. "He misses you." He. It was always about Jamie, never her. When she said that I tried to tell myself that she was just using Jamie in conversation to explain how she was really feeling. Jamie would love to see you. Jamie misses you.

Reviews = gold. They will let me know if I should continue and post chapter 2, and may inspire me to write better! :) Thanks for reading.