A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. Once again, I'm very excited for this story and where it's headed. Let me know what you think. Please continue to read and review. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Haley collapsed on the bed beside her, speechless. Patrick had expected a different reaction. He was ready for tears yet the loving supporting Haley he knew. "I'm so sorry honey."

Haley didn't respond, or even blink. Patrick ran his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth, "Please say something to me dear. Say anything." He stood steady with his arms folded. Silence was the only reply he received. "Haley. It's my duty."

Haley came back to life as she sprang off the bed, placing herself right in front of Patrick. Her face was growing hotter as she stared into his eyes. Haley suddenly swiped her hand across his face followed with a loud smacking sound. Patrick clutched his face, too shocked to speak.

Haley spoke quietly, but clearly, "It is NOT your duty. You ASKED for this. You didn't HAVE to do this. You're leaving me alone all to endanger your own life." Tears began to spill over her eyelids and run down her steaming red cheeks.

Patrick released his now equally reddened cheek, and looked at his small vulnerable wife, "Oh Haley. You know how I feel about this. My father died fighting for this country, and I feel that it's my duty to do the same."

Haley gasped, "See! You WANT TO DIE over there!"

Patrick shook his head, "Haley. I mean I want to fight for my country, I don't want to die, but it's a risk I have to take. I love you so much, but this is something I have to do. I know you don't understand it, but can you please try to support me?"

Haley bit her lip as she wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to hold herself together. After a moment she whispered, "What about me Patrick? What if you die? I...I can't handle that. I can't be alone. I need you. I love you. I...I can't be without you." Haley erupted into hysterical sobs as her body shook uncontrollably and her face crumpled.

Patrick pulled her into his arms and held her until she stopped, "Haley. I'm going to make sure that you are taken care of, but you going to have to be strong for me okay? Please, for me."

Haley wiped her eyes and nodded, "Just promise me one thing Patrick."

He nodded. "Don't try to be a hero. Don't do anything stupid. Promise me." Haley tried to keep her voice steady, because she wanted him to understand that she was completely serious about this. Patrick kissed the top of her head, "Haley, I love you."

Haley shook her head and mumbled, "No Patrick. Promise me."

Patrick sighed and stroked her hair, "I can't do that Haley. I'm going to do what I have to do."

Haley bit her lip to contain a fresh flood of tears before walking over to her side of the bed. Patrick followed her and gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He carefully placed her on the bed and climbed behind her. Patrick wrapped his arms around her small frame until her breathing had slowed and her whimpering had faded into a calm silence.

--

"Haley!" Patrick called up the stairs. She hadn't gotten out of bed yet and it was almost two in the afternoon. Haley ALWAYS got up at the crack of dawn, but not recently. "Haley, my mother will be here soon to have lunch with us."

No response. Patrick sighed, he had no idea she was going to take it like this. He didn't know what to do about her. She was inconsolable and he was going to be leaving in three days. Haley had spent the past four moping around all day until he came home, where she then wouldn't leave his side as if he might disappear at any second. Just then the doorbell rang. Patrick shook his head free from thoughts and turned the crystal doorknob, to see his mother, Elizabeth Parker.

"Hi Mom." He kissed her on the cheek and then guided her into the townhouse. Elizabeth looked around, "Where's my perfect little daughter in law?"

Patrick pointed up the stairs, "She's upstairs and she won't come down. I don't know what to do about her."

Elizabeth frowned and looked at her son. She and Haley had the same worst fear, and it was losing her only child. Elizabeth could see that Patrick was worried sick about Haley. She put her purse down on the table and opened her arms, "Come here."

Patrick stepped into her embrace and instead of resting his head on her chest like he'd done for 20 years, Elizabeth rested her head on his. Her tears began pooling on his clean button up shirt. "Mom, please don't cry." Patrick hated watching his mother cry, she was a stong woman, who rarely shed a tear. So when she did cry Patrick felt incredibly pained, especially when he was the cause of it.

Elizabeth laughed and looked up at him, fighting the few more tears forming. She stroked his cheek, "My beautiful baby boy, what are we going to do without you?"

Patrick smiled and gently removed her hand from his face, holding it to her chest instead, "You'll be fine but Haley...I never thought she'd take it like this."

Elizabeth wiped her eyes and nodded, "I'll talk to her. You have to understand though, that losing you is losing her whole world. You're my whole world too. But I'll be strong because your father would be so proud of you. Like Haley, I had to learn to be a soldier's wife, so just give Haley time, she'll learn to be brave too."

Patrick kissed his mother on the cheek again, "Thank you Mom."

Elizabeth nodded and began to make her way up the stairs. She quietly rapped on the closed bedroom door, "Haley, it's Elizabeth. Can I come in?" She leaned on the door, revealing a dark room with Haley curled up on the bed clutching a gold frame against her chest. "Oh honey."

Elizabeth took a seat next to her and wrapped her arm around her daughter in law. Haley wiped her eyes as she peered down at the wedding picture, "I'm so scared." She whispered.

Elizabeth stroked her hair sympathetically, "I know Haley. But you're assuming the worst. Patrick isn't dead. Right now actually, he's standing in the foyer, worried sick about his wife. You have three days left with him; enjoy them. Tell him you love him, and then all you can do is hope, pray and wait. But crying in your bed all day won't change, fix, or help anything. You're such a strong young woman Haley and I've always admired you for it. Be that woman that both my son and I love so dearly."

Haley nodded and sniffled, "You're right. You always are, Elizabeth. Thank you."

Elizabeth stood up and took Haley's hand, "Come on, it's time to get you out of this bed."

--

Patrick looked at the address written down on the paper laying in his palm. He looked back up at the mansion. Wow. The golden numbers on the side of the door matched the ones written before him. He opened the iron gate and walked up the path to the grand wooden door. Patrick gently knocked twice, afraid to break the beautiful home. A few seconds later Nathan's face appeared in place of the door.

"Patrick?" Nathan realized, opening the door wider.

Patrick smiled and shook his head, "Wow, what trouble did you get into this time in order to get a place like this?"

Nathan laughed and stepped aside, "Come on in."

Patrick walked forward, into the foyer of the mansion. He looked around, noticing that every inch of this place was decorated with the most rich, exquisite taste possible, "No really, who did you kill?"

Nathan closed the door behind Patrick and shrugged, "You should ask my father that. He probably did."

Patrick's smile faded, he knew all about Dan Scott. Dan Scott was the worst father imaginable, and possibly the most unpleasant man Patrick had ever met. "Where is the old bastard?"

Nathan shrugged again, "I don't know anymore. He was gone when I came back to this house to recover from my surgery. I'm guessing he probably ran to get away from this war, even if it meant abandoning his injured child," he stated matter of factly, instead of with the expected bitter edge.

"I'm sorry. But hey, at least he left you with this place." Patrick motioned to the crystal chandelier hanging above them.

Nathan laughed again, "Yeah, well, being here alone certainly beats being here with him. I don't need him. Never have, never will."

Patrick sighed, this was a good segue to what he came here for, "Well, I'm sorry I haven't seen you in such a long time, but I came here to talk to you about something."

Nathan grew serious again as his thoughts began to flood with possibilities. Was Haley okay? Did something happen? "Of course, we can talk about it in the parlor. Come this way." He turned to the left and led Patrick into a wooden paneled room with three red velvet couches centered around a burning fireplace. Nathan took a seat on one couch as Patrick sat down across him. "Is everything okay?"

Patrick sighed, looked down at his lap and then back up at Nathan, "I was called to duty. I leave tomorrow morning."

Nathan's jaw dropped as he stuttered for words, "Oh. Wow. I'm...sorry." He wasn't really sure about how Patrick felt about this but looking at his grave face Nathan just assumed he was upset.

Patrick shook his head, "Thanks, but that's not the problem. I was expecting this to happen soon. They're going to do a draft, and well, I'm already enlisted, so I was just waiting for it."

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, I've been reading the papers, and it's not looking good. I'd probably be drafted if it weren't for my bum knee." He pointed down to his left knee, which still caused him to limp a little.

Patrick sighed again and then placed his head in his hands. Nathan didn't speak for a minute. Patrick looked back up at Nathan, shaking his head, "It's Haley Nate. I...I don't know what to do. I didn't expect her to be like this...she's...she's falling apart."

Nathan felt his chest squeeze as he instantly pictured Haley's shattered spirit. He couldn't manage to reply. Patrick continued, "I've been thinking about it, and I don't feel comfortable leaving her like this and all alone. And if I spend all my time worrying about her while I'm out there, then I won't be able to focus on doing my job and staying alive." He blinked and then looked over to Nathan with the utmost seriousness, "I thought about who I could leave her with. Who I could trust to take care of her. But I realized most of the men I know will most likely be called out to duty soon too, and then I remembered your knee."

Nathan took a deep breath as he realized where this was going, "Of course." He spoke with hesitation.

Patrick bit his lip as his voice broke, "It would mean the world to me if you would look out for her while I'm gone. I know it's a lot to ask from someone who I haven't really been the most attentive friend to lately but...you're still like a brother to me, and I...I trust you more than anyone else anyways. And I know you live a pretty solitary life, so...there'd be nothing else in the way. I'm sorry. I know how that sounds but I just mean...I knew you could really look out for her like no one else. It just made sense, but I understand if you don't want to. It's a lot to ask."

Nathan repeated himself, this time louder and with more clarity, "Hey, of course I will. You're still a brother to me too. And after all the trouble you got me out of in college, I owe you." He tried to smile weakly.

Patrick smiled bittersweetly in response, "Thank you. Thank you so much Nathan. It means the world to me. She means the world to me, and I just need to know she'll be okay."

Nathan stood up and extended his hand, "I promise you, she will be. I'll look out for her, and be there for her until you get back. I promise you that."

Patrick felt his eyes water with relief. He stood up and instead of shaking Nathan's hand he engulfed him in a powerful hug, "Thank you."

Nathan patted his back and stepped away, "But you need to promise me something in return."

Patrick nodded eagerly, "Anything."

"Come back." Nathan said without blinking. He had a million emotions tunneling through his veins. But two of them overpowered all the others; He had to be there for his best friend, the only person who had ever been so close to him in his life. And he couldn't stand the idea of that beautiful, kind-hearted, strong, smiling brunette suffering. He would do anything he could to be her anchor. For Patrick, he told himself.

--

"It's time." Patrick whispered into Haley's auburn curls. She didn't respond, but instead he felt her cling tighter to him. "Honey, I need to tell you some things before I go though, so please listen. Okay?"

Haley nodded into his chest, a constant river of tears streaming down her face and onto his dark green uniform.

He spoke clearly into her ear, not letting his own voice quaver, "I need you to be strong, for me, for my mother, and for yourself. I don't want you to waste how ever long I'm out there by just being miserable. I want to remember you smiling, and find comfort in knowing that you're safe and happy. I won't be able to focus on doing my duty and staying alive if I have to worry about you too. Okay?"

Haley whimpered but nodded again. Patrick continued, "Good. Now, I'm going to write to you as much as I can. But I don't want you to write back. It could be too difficult for the letters to get to me and I don't want you or me to be disappointed. Like I said, I need to be focused. But whenever I'm not in danger, know that my thoughts will always be about you." Patrick paused, struggling to maintain his composure, "If you ever feel lost, alone, scared, or anything at all, know that I'm keeping my promise. I've made sure that you're looked out for. You're going to be okay. I'm putting you in trusted hands."

Haley was curious as to who or what he meant by this but she didn't have the strength to ask. Before she could even try, she suddenly realized Patrick was now looking down at her. She mustered up her courage to meet his gaze. When her eyes met his, the tears quickly multiplied as her lower lip trembled. Patrick stroked her face and kissed her oncoming tears away, "Haley. If anything happens-"

Haley whimpered again and placed her hand on his lips, violently shaking her head, "St-stop." She managed to whisper in the tiniest of voices.

Patrick now found a few tears stumbling down his cheek too, but he kept his face steady, though his voice was breaking, "If I don't come back, you have to know that I love you. You made me the happiest man in the world Haley James Parker. And I want you to move on if something happens to me, I want you to find happiness again, and not be afraid to love someone again. I would never hold that against you."

Haley finally managed to say something, because it was something she had to say, "Never. I never could."

Patrick shook his head, "I'm serious Haley. Don't say that. I want you to. Promise me?"

Haley shook her head until Patrick clutched her chin firmly, "Promise me."

Haley's face crumpled as she weakly nodded. Patrick kissed her forehead, "Thank you. I'll miss you honey. I love you Haley. I love you so goddamn much." Haley nodded and jumped into his arms, wrapping her's around his neck, she passionately kissed him in the way that you only saw in the movies. Patrick finally pulled away and slowly walked to the door. He looked back at her one last time, forced himself to smile, and then turned around and walked to the car parked in front, not letting himself look back again.

Haley clutched the door knob, watching until the car was out of sight. She walked back inside, not blinking, and closed the door. Haley leaned against it, feeling her knees start to wobble. Her chest was clenching up, as she realized she hadn't taken a breath yet. Haley gasped for air as her knees gave way and she fell to the ground. Haley collapsed on the floor, curled up like a baby, sobbing silently. She remained like that for what seemed like hours until a knock on the door startled her.

"GO AWAY!" She hollered, much louder than she expected to. She hadn't said anything above a whisper all day. Haley hadn't been able to.

The knocking continued. Haley felt herself transition from the darkest desperation to anger, "I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" She didn't move off the floor.

"Haley? Please let me in." A deep voice asked gently. Haley recognized it from somewhere, but she couldn't quite remember.

"Please, just do what I said and go away. I'm not taking any visitors for tod...for a while." She said weakly.

The voice continued, "I know, Patrick sent me though."

The unexpected mention of his name caught her by surprise, pricking her chest. She slowly crept up to her feet and wobbily opened the door, "N-Nathan?"

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