Summary: Nathan is a carpenter worried about recent cutbacks in his company. Haley is a fresh from college preschool teacher looking to make a difference in her students' lives. After Nathan discovers he is the father to a daughter he never knew about, the embodiment of bachelorhood meets the epitome of responsibility when one blue eyed little girl becomes the common denominator.
OTH*OTH*OTH
Little Wonders
Chapter 1
"Did you get your pink slip today, man?"
Nathan Scott looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. His half brother, Lucas, was making his way to him from across the crowded bar. Nathan grinned up at him as he finished the last swig of his beer and let the empty bottle clatter onto the table top.
"No, man, I have somehow managed to stay employed another day. Come Monday, might be a different story," Nathan replied, giving the other man a quick handshake. "What about you?"
Lucas returned the grin and beckoned for a waitress as he took the empty seat across the table. "Thankfully the IT guys aren't in the line of fire this time."
"Lucky bastard," Nathan deadpanned. "Job security is a thing of the past for us lowly manual laborers, huh? You fancy, high tech guys have it made."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lucas muttered, taking Nathan's ribbing good naturedly. He turned his attention to the young waitress who was approaching their table. "I'll have a Heineken and I think my friend could use one, too," he told her.
"Nah, I'm done," Nathan interrupted, shaking his head at the waitress. "I think it's a surefire sign that I've had enough when you start looking like a sight for sore eyes," he joked when Lucas quirked his eyebrow. "So how are you and Brooke doing?"
The content smile that formed on Lucas's face at the mention of his new wife was unmistakable. "Can't complain, can't complain. Somehow the sex has gotten even better since we got married, and I didn't think that was even possible."
Nathan laughed. "You just wait 'til the honeymoon's over. It sure don't last forever."
"You're an expert now, huh?" Lucas asked, his tone clearly amused. "And when was your last serious relationship?"
"All right, all right," Nathan said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I'm just jealous I guess." Truth was, Nathan wasn't exactly the most experienced in certain areas when it came to women, specifically being seriously involved with one. Besides a casual one night stand every once in awhile when the loneliness became overwhelming, Nathan's longest relationship dated back to his early twenties. In that respect, he was definitely envious of Lucas, who seemed to have it all with his high school sweetheart.
"How's Brooke taking the news of the cutbacks?" Nathan asked, continuing the conversation once the waitress brought Lucas's beer.
Lucas grimaced. "Not well. She's freaking out. You know how high strung Brooke can be."
Nathan snorted. Personally, he considered that to be one of the biggest understatements he'd ever heard. Brooke Davis-Scott was one hell of woman, and Lucas was the only person who had ever come close to taming her. "You can't blame her though, especially not with a little Scott on the way. Another mouth to feed, and all."
"True. You'd think we were already out on the streets if you listened to her, though." Lucas let out a sigh and ran a hand through his sandy hair, weariness in his eyes. "Even though they're not laying off in my department, word is that if they don't start breaking even they're gonna cut hours next."
Nathan groaned, tossing his head back and suddenly wishing that he hadn't opted out of another beer. Instead he reached for the glass of water the waitress had brought him and took a long swig. "Shit," he said finally after a long, tense moment of silence.
"I know. Have you thought about looking for other jobs, you know, just in case? Brooke's job could probably keep us afloat for awhile if it ever came to that. I can't imagine having to worry about it on my own."
"I've done more than think about it, man," Nathan said grimly. "I've looked, but there's nothing really available. For some reason carpenters without as much as a high school diploma aren't in high demand."
"Well, you're good at what you do and you've been there forever, so I doubt you're in any danger," Lucas said encouragingly, reaching over and clapping Nathan on the back, but his words didn't do much to assuage Nathan's worries. He swiftly changed the subject, sensing the sudden tension. "Hey, did you ever find out why they keep calling you from social services?"
"Nope, and I don't really care," Nathan said passively. He saw the surprise in Lucas's expression and clarified, "With my luck it's probably something bad, so I'll just avoid it as long as I can." For the last week he'd been receiving calls from a woman named Rachel, who had also left numerous messages, but Nathan hadn't really found it within himself to care what she was trying to contact him about. He was preoccupied with worries about his job; he didn't have the time or energy to add more worries into the mix.
"Hey, you never know. Could be something good," Lucas remarked with a shrug, finishing off his beer.
"Yeah, good things don't really happen to Nathan Scott," Nathan deadpanned. "Sooner or later the calls have got to stop. At least that's what I'm hoping for."
Much to Nathan's chagrin, the calls did not stop. Over the following week he found a new message on his voicemail from Rachel Quesenberry each and every day, the tone in her voice increasing with urgency each time. The day that Nathan finally considered returning her call just so she'd finally leave him alone was the day she turned up at his job.
"Scott, there's some lady here to see you," the gruff voice of his boss called as Nathan passed by his office on his way out of the building. "Says it's urgent."
Nathan groaned and slowed to a stop. It was his lunch break, the first ten minutes of which he'd already spent working in the shop off the clock. With only twenty minutes remaining, he knew he would be lucky to wolf down the old bologna sandwich he'd thrown together that morning.
"Scott?" came his boss's voice again, a little more impatient.
"Yes, sir," Nathan murmured as he turned to face the older man. The hard, disapproving look on Grant Phelps' face gave Nathan no false impressions that an unexpected visitor turning up to his workplace was acceptable.
"You can use my office; I'm going to lunch. She's waiting inside," Phelps said, stalking off towards his truck.
When he entered the office, Nathan found a small woman wearing a neat gray suit seated at the cluttered desk, looking utterly out of place amidst the turmoil of Phelps' office. She looked up as he approached the table, her lips set in a thin line as she regarded him.
"Nathan Scott? My, you sure are a hard man to get in touch with," she commented, standing and extending her hand for Nathan to shake. "I'm Rachel Quesenberry, with the Department of Social Services."
Nathan reluctantly shook her proffered hand, then quickly withdrew and crossed his arms over his chest. "I recognize your name from your messages," he admitted gruffly.
"And here I was thinking I must have had the wrong number since you never returned any of my calls." Her eyebrow raised over the rim of her glasses.
"Yeah, well, it's difficult to return calls to places of business which are open from nine to five when you work shift work," Nathan snapped defensively, narrowing his eyes at the woman. She looked nice enough; young, probably early thirties, with shoulder length blonde hair cut into a bob. Her professional suit cast sharp lines on her thin frame.
"Yes, well, if you'd listened to my messages you would have found a number at which you could reach me out outside of normal business hours," Rachel replied. She sat back down at the desk, folding her hands neatly over top of a file folder that Nathan could see was marked with his name. "Regardless, you and I are here now, and there's something I must discuss with you, Mr. Scott. Would you care to have a seat?"
Nathan reluctantly took the rickety seat on the opposite side of the desk, sitting rigidly as he stared uneasily at the woman in front of him. "What's this about?" he asked. His mind was whirring a mile a minute with all the possible scenarios of why anyone from social services would not only leave messages for him unendingly, but also track him down at work when he failed to return those calls.
"Mr. Scott, do you know a woman named Caroline Petersik?"
Caroline Petersik. The name hit Nathan like a ton of bricks. Carly had been Nathan's first and only serious relationship, one that had lasted the first three years of his early twenties. He'd broken things off when it became apparent that she was expecting a ring on her finger, and Nathan just hadn't been ready to commit. He doubted that he would have ever felt ready to commit, and Carly deserved more than that. Shortly after their relationship ended, Carly had moved from Tree Hill to Charlotte to live with her sister, and he hadn't seen or heard from her since.
His mind went into overdrive as he pondered the reasons why, five years later, Carly Petersik's name would come up again, and especially why social services could have anything to do with it.
"Um, yeah, Carly- Caroline is an ex girlfriend. I haven't talked to her in years, though," Nathan mumbled quietly, looking down at the watch on his wrist. 12:17. Nathan had a feeling that though it was just after noon on a typical work day in his typical life, something big was about to happen. "Ms. Quesenberry, what is this about? Can we just cut to the chase? It's my lunch break, and I already am short on time today."
Rachel nodded and opened the file folder, producing a photo that she placed gingerly on the desk in front of Nathan. "Do you recognize this picture, Mr. Scott?"
The little girl with the long, curly, chestnut colored hair in the picture was gorgeous, Nathan had to admit. He also had to admit that looking into her sparkling sapphire blue eyes was a little like looking into his own. His breath caught in his throat as he looked wildly from the picture, to the social worker sitting before him, and back to the picture. Realization began to dawn on him before the words were even spoken, and he felt reality crushing down on him.
"This is your daughter, Mr. Scott. Lainey Kate Petersik."
Nathan felt panic welling up within him as he stood abruptly, the chair he vacated toppling over behind him and hitting the floor with a loud crash. "No- what- how is this possible? I never knew anything about a daughter. How- what makes you think she's mine? What does Carly want from me now about all these years? Damn it!" he ranted, pacing back and forth in front of the desk as he ran a hand over his face.
The truth was, Nathan knew Carly had been pregnant and that he was the father. The phone call he received shortly after their break up, after she was long gone to Charlotte, had informed him of as much when Carly proclaimed that she was "late".
Nathan had also been under the impression that she had "taken care of" things with the money he'd wired her.
How was it that now, five years later, some stranger was telling him that he had a daughter? A daughter he'd never had the chance to know? One that Carly had kept a secret from him?
"Why now?" Nathan asked suddenly, stopping his pacing. "Why does Carly want me to have anything to do with her now? I haven't even heard the name Caroline Petersik for five years until today. Shit, does she want child support?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, but Ms. Petersik was involved in a motor vehicle collision last week. She didn't make it. You are listed on the birth certificate as next of kin, which is why I am here today," Rachel said gently, her earlier displeasure with him dissipating a bit. "I know this must be a shock to you, but she is yours. The state wishes to place her in your custody per Ms. Petersik's will. There are other options, if you so choose."
"What about her sister? Carly went to live with her. Surely she'd be more fit to take care of- the girl," Nathan recommended, his voice strained as he spoke.
"Regrettably, her sister was also involved in the collision; there were no survivors."
"Shit," Nathan breathed again, raking a hand through his hair. He righted the chair he had knocked over and sank back down into it. "Where is she now?"
"Foster care," Rachel informed him. "She's with a nice lady in Charlotte who had experience caring for children in similar circumstances. She is in good hands there, certainly, but obviously the state feels it would be in the child's best interest if she could be placed with her biological father."
After a long pause, Nathan nodded and caught Rachel's eye before speaking quietly. "Okay. What do I need to do?"
OTH*OTH*OTH
Author's Note: This is just a trial to see if there is any interest in this story. Please review if you liked it!