"Daddy," Jamie said in an urgent whisper. "Mommy is going to come downstairs in just a minute, and you still haven't put chocolate sauce on my pancake!"

Nathan looked at his son and had to stifle the urge to give the little boy a bone crushing hug. It had been so long since Jamie had looked at him with such adoration, then again…it wasn't like he deserved it. As far as his son was concerned—in real time—Nathan was the man who'd been neglecting his mother.

"You're right," he said, slinging the dish towel over his shoulder and taking the few steps to the refrigerator. He pulled out the chocolate syrup and popped it open on his way back to the counter where Jamie was sitting, smothering the pancake in enough syrup so you couldn't see what was underneath.

"Awesome!" Jamie exclaimed with a grin. "You've never poured out half the bottle before!"

"What's awesome?" Haley asked as she walked into the room.

Nathan gave her a sexy grin. "Your cheeks look a bit flushed, Mrs. Scott," he said as she made her way to the coffee pot. "That's pretty awesome."

"Yes, well," she said, a bit flustered. "I did just run down the stairs."

Before she could pull a mug out of the cupboard, he was wrapping his arms around her from behind, leaning down to place a kiss just below her ear. "You make jeans sexy," he whispered in her ear.

Haley laughed. "You are ravenous this morning," she commented, moving her head to the side to give him more room to work with.

"Yes," he agreed as he straightened, giving her a playful slap on the ass before backing away. "Yes, I am."

"What time are grandma and grandpa getting here?" Jamie piped up.

"We need to pick them up from the airport in two hours, Jimmy Jam," Haley answered as she filled her coffee mug with steaming hot liquid.

"Do you think they brought me lots of presents?" he asked taking a huge bite of his pancake.

Haley gave him a stern look. "That is not what Christmas is about," she reminded him. "It's about—is that chocolate sauce on your pancake?" she asked.

"Just a little," Jamie answered, shoveling another bite into his mouth before his mother could pull his plate away.

"Jamie, you used half the bottle! You're going to get ten thousand cavities from that," she warned.

"I don't even have ten thousand teeth," her son shot back. "Besides…Dad did it."

Haley turned to her husband, giving him the same stern glare she'd just given her son. "Nathan."

He shrugged, holding his hands up in front of him. "He gave me that grin," he said, defending himself.

"Yeah," Haley said, turning to Jamie. "I know that grin."


"What do you suppose they're talking about in there?" Jimmy asked, looking toward the kitchen.

Nathan chuckled. "Us. Or, you know…cooking."

Jimmy laughed before turning to him, a serious look on his face. "You've been a good husband to my daughter, Nathan," he said sincerely.

Nathan wasn't sure what to say; he knew it wasn't true. Sure, maybe it was in this lifetime, but he was going to wake up in the morning, and it probably wasn't going to be this lifetime. "Thank you," he said, overwhelmed with guilt.

Jimmy nodded. "I had my doubts," he admitted, arching a brow at the younger man. "Especially when you marched into my house at sixteen years old and asked me if you could marry her."

Nathan nodded. "That was actually one of my finer moments," he joked.

"I agree," his father in law said, looking him in straight in the eye. "You take good care of her."

Nathan sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to say to the man who was singing his praises.

"And I'm going to need for you to keep doing that," Jimmy said. "I need to know…that you're going to take care of her."

"Of course," Nathan said quickly; he didn't like where this was going.

"I have cancer, Nate," he finally said.

"Wha—you—cancer?" Nathan repeated in disbelief.

Jimmy nodded. "Pancreatic. That's why we're here. After Christmas, we're going to tell Haley."

Nathan sat there for a moment in shock. "What…what's the prognosis?" he asked, but he already knew.

"Six months," Jimmy answered.

"I…I don't know what to say," Nathan said. "I…" He lifted his hands and rubbed his eyes with his palms. "Jimmy," was all he could choke out.

"Haley will be fine, Nathan, because she has you. But I'm worried about my wife. Now, you know Lydia. She's going to pretend to be fine…for everyone else. But she's going to hurt. And she's going to need someone to help her get through this. But she won't ask for help."

"She won't have to," Nathan said fiercely.

"Thank you, Nathan," Jimmy said sincerely. "I knew I could count on you."


"Is it weird that I feel safer with my parents in the house?" Haley asked later that night as they lay in bed.

"No," Nathan answered turning to face her.

"It reminds me of when I was younger. I feel like you should sneak out of my bedroom window before they wake up," she said with a laugh.

"OK," Nathan agreed teasingly, "But when they see the kids…I think they'll know what we've been up to."

Haley smiled, and then leaned forward to give her husband a kiss. "I love you," she said, pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her eyes.

Nathan lifted his eyes to the ceiling, his mind racing. If he and Haley divorced, she'd be going through this alone…or, he thought with a scowl, Jason. Jimmy would have had that talk with him, and Haley would be leaning on him through what was sure to be the roughest time of her life.

He hated that thought. The only thing worse than Haley's father having cancer would be not being the one here for her…not being the rock that she was going to need.

Nathan fought his fatigue for as long as he could; he was afraid to lose everything he had here. But resistance was futile; sleep eventually claimed him.