An Inconvenient Comfort
Chapter II
A/N: Let's just pretend Haley didn't tell Lucas she was pregnant at the end of 4x04 and Brooke didn't expose Haley at school.
I just want to thank Conspiracies, Nellie, and RathanIsLove to the bottom of my heart. I'm extremely proud of this fic and every review matters to me. Thanks for the motivation.
"Haley…" his voice choked as he spoke to her for the first time since that morning. "I have something to tell you…"
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face into her neck.
"Yeah?" Haley responded tucking out her hair nervously.
"This morning," Nathan sighed, hiding his face in her embrace. "I was so lost. I'm still lost, Hales. I didn't know what to say or how to think-" tears found their way out of his eyes as he spoke.
"Don't say anymore." Haley interrupted, hugging him even tighter.
"Sometimes I forget that we're only kids. We're still in high school, Nathan. So much has happened in the past year that doesn't happen to some people in a lifetime," Haley spoke with so much understanding. "It was wrong of me to expect anything more than the reaction you gave me. We're so young and we still have to discover ourselves-now, more than ever. Let's take this one day at a time." she finished, embracing Nathan tighter than ever.
Nathan was crying so much, yet, he held back so many tears. He lifted his head and looked into the eyes of his wife. Her eyes were just as watering; dropping, more or less, as many tears as her husband's.
"You're so good to me, Haley. I don't know what I did to deserve you."
Haley smiled as she looked into his genuine eyes and she kissed him with the most passionate kiss they shared since the day of the wedding.
"So," Nathan laughed through his tears. "A baby?!" he said excitingly, yet, still sorrowful.
"Yup! We're becoming a family." Haley announced merrily through her tears.
Nathan's tearful eyes smiled the first time that day as he continuously rubbed Haley's stomach and smothered her in passionate, apologetic kisses.
--
Rachel sat in her bed most of the day, staring blankly at her cheerleading uniform behind her. The entire cheerleading squad had a press conference to attend for none other than Nathan Scott.
"I sure can pick them." Rachel blurted out to herself in the empty room.
The door creaked open and her roommate, Brooke, walked into the room.
"Talking to yourself?" she questioned jokingly, making her way to the closet. "I can't say I'm too shocked. I knew you were a crazy bitch the minute I met you."
"Haha, whore." Rachel responded in a deadpan tone. "I see your baby bump is growing in nicely." She added.
"I'm not…" Brooke paused midsentence and pouted on her way to the bathroom with her cheerleading outfit.
Rachel laughed a little but she still couldn't forget how lost she felt at the moment. She was sworn to secrecy but she wanted so badly to reveal what happened. She wanted to make sense of her feelings. She wanted Nathan so badly and once she got him she doesn't want anything more than to take it back.
"So anyway, mommy dearest, are you going to the press conference?" Rachel asked in attempt to rid her thoughts.
"Of course!" Brooke answered. "I am cheerleading captain and it's not like I have a blind date or anything." she continued with an exaggerated frown.
"Is Haley going?" Rachel's skittish inflection was inarguable.
"I don't know. She and Nathan are having a shaky time right now."
Rachel had an overflow of different emotions hit her at once.
"Why?!" she frenzied in sitting position, sounding both excited and genuinely concerned.
Brooke shook her head, thinking that Rachel saw this as an opportunity.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." she retorted. "Not that it matters anyway. You don't stand a chance." Brooke scoffed in the same manner Haley did when she said the same thing.
You have no idea. Rachel thought to herself before finally standing to her feet and grabbing her cheerleading outfit.
--
Brooke was walking side-by-side with Rachel down to the city hall. As they entered the building and made their way to the conference room, she spotted Peyton hugging Lucas tightly. She rolled her eyes in disgust and started to walk past them. Rachel made it through the archway to the conference room but Brooke was pulled back to the entrance hall.
"Brooke." Lucas called, almost sounding shocked to see her.
"Let go of me, Luke." she replied, shaking her arm spasmodically.
"Just listen. Please!" he begged, loosening his grip.
Brooke folded her arms and stood there, daring not to look in his eyes.
"I know this is hard for you…" he preached, searching for the right words to keep Brooke at his attention. "But I'm here for you. I'm here for you and I'm here for our baby."
"How come you always assume this is your baby, Luke." She began storming off to the conference room. "You're not the only-"
She was cut off by another pull from Lucas. He pinned her to the wall and held her there. He was being really forceful but she could feel his gentleness at the same time.
"You're making it hard for me to believe the best in you when you say things like that, Brooke. The truth is I don't believe you. Not for a second. I know this baby is mines and I know you're mad at me but I won't be punished for a simple mistake." Lucas said, still holding her tight against the wall.
Brooke started to say 'simple mistake?' but after seeing Lucas step up for the first time in so long, she found herself speechless. Just like that night on the beach.
"Now…" he cleared his throat and loosened his grip but still refused to let her go. "I have to go to the police station to make a statement. I'll call you tonight so we can finish talking about it."
Lucas finally let her go and began walking away. As he held the entrance door open he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind.
"Wait!" Brooke hollered. He turned. "I'll come with you."
--
Nathan stood in the center of the conference room, taking in all the commotion going on around him. There were cameras at every corner and so many people there for support. Peyton was the first person to congratulate him that day and Theresa followed. He felt a tap on the back of his shoulder and he turned to another Raven's cheerleading beauty.
"Hey there." Rachel recited, hoping it came off as more casual-and-awkward, like she felt, than her usual flirtatious demeanor.
"Hey." Nathan uttered back with his head down.
"You know, I wanted to talk to you all day but I just never had the courage to." Rachel stated, finally feeling some release to talk about her feelings.
"Yeah… me too." He replied, still looking away from her.
"I don't expect you to be easy about this, Nate. I really don't. So, if you need more time to reflect then let me know." Rachel supported. "I mean that."
Nathan couldn't help but to show a side of shock to see Rachel being so humane and understanding.
"Thanks, Rachel." was the only words Nathan could find to escape his mouth.
He stood there, next to her, with his hands in his pocket and his eyes studying the room. For a few short moments his guilt started to recede. He couldn't explain it, even when he tried, but he didn't feel like dying in that moment.
"It's time." Nathan announced, breaking the silence.
Dan made his way to the podium as everyone in the room clapped at his entrance. Rachel stood next to Peyton with the cheerleaders and Nathan stood beside the podium, waiting for his dad to speak his peace. It wasn't soon before Nathan stood before the cameras and had everyone's attention. Dan placed both of his hands on Nathan's shoulders and whispered in his ear.
"The greatest day of your life."
If only Dan knew what his son went through that day. If only Dan knew the guilt his son carried on him and the burning he felt from within. Dan had no idea how completely untrue that statement was.
Nathan faced the eager audience and exhaled deeply before he spoke.
--
Lucas and Brooke made access through the police station's doors. Brooke almost felt worried for her ex-friend after Lucas explained what was going on during the car ride. Detective Wilcott's waited for Lucas at the entrance.
"We have him in custody right now." The detective said as he shook Lucas and Brooke's hand. "But there's something I need to tell you."
Worry ran across Lucas's face when the detective said those words. Brooke clinched on to Lucas's wrist and stood on her toes in anticipation.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?!" Brooke asked anxiously.
"No! No!" Detective answered quickly. Lucas and Brooke let out deep sighs of relief. "It's just that… the guy we caught isn't Derek Sommers. Not exactly."
Lucas and Brooke looked at each other in extreme confusion.
"You see… the number you gave us led us to Derek Sommers directly but he didn't fit your description of him. So, after staking outside your friend's home, we found someone tampering with her phone lines
outside the house." Detective Wilcotts led Lucas and Brooke to an interrogation room where Derek sat, staring through the window.
"He revealed to us that his real name is Ian Banks and he's had some sort of infatuation with Peyton for years… through her podcasts. The real Sommers is this guy right here." Detective Wilcotts pointed straight ahead the hall.
Lucas couldn't believe his eyes. A black man, about his height, stood up from the bench in which the detective pointed. Derek stood up from the bench and walked towards the three.
"Peyton?" he said questionably with his hand reaching out to Brooke. "I'm your brother, Derek."
--
As Nathan finished announcing his plans for college, or lack thereof, Rachel felt a huge lump down her throat. She couldn't believe it. Nathan just announced that he is going to be a father and she couldn't feel anymore pathetic. She forced a smile for the cameras but she wanted nothing more than to find a corner to curl up into. She watched Nathan smile greatly as everyone smothered him with hugs and handshakes.
Nathan needed time away from the crowd. Just a minute if that was all he can get. After receiving 50 hugs from Peyton alone, he walked into the bathroom. To his relief, it was empty. He let out a few sobs as he studied himself in the mirror. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were puffy. He turned on the sink and soaked his face, mainly his eyes. The bathroom door creaked open but he couldn't see through his shut eyes.
"Nathan? Are you alone?" The petite voice asked at the door.
"Yes, Rach. It's empty." He answered, drying his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket after failing to find napkins.
Rachel had no intentions of crying in front of Nathan but before she can even speak, tears just started to flow through her eyes.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew about the baby all along." She assured him, wiping her cheeks clean.
"Rachel… I-"
"No! I don't want to hear it." She interrupted. "Believe me, I know I'm no angel but if I knew you were going to be a father I would've never done that to you!" She wailed, watching her tone so no one else would hear her through the door.
"Rachel, I was so lost. I had no idea what to do. I still don't."
"Oh… I guess that makes everything okay." She replied sarcastically, defensively folding her arms.
"No. It doesn't!" Nathan's voice rose. He couldn't believe that she's making him out to be a guiltless bastard. "You think it's easy for me?! You think I can smile in my wife's face every day, knowing that I cheated on her?!" He started crying. "How can I ever explain to her that I let someone give me head because she thinks I have eyes like my Uncle Cooper?"
Rachel's eyes widened. Her conquest to pursue Nathan swayed her completely off track of her own mind. She had forgotten that his Uncle Cooper was the very reason she felt that way about him. With nothing left to say, she rushed out the door in tears, leaving Nathan to cry to himself for a little while longer.
A/N: Okay, so I know I altered the Psycho Derek storyline drastically but I HATED how unrealistic it was so I decided to drop it almost completely. I'm not making any promises but don't expect me break Psycho Derek out of jail or anything. But DO expect some more Brucas scenes!
Please review! It means more than I can ever say.