"Jamie asleep?" Haley had finished tucking Jamie in. After a few pages from his bedtime book, he had fallen into a carefree slumber and Haley found herself entranced by the innocent aura that surrounded him. He was so young yet he had suffered so much. It made Haley feel bad for him. He didn't deserve that. Jamie deserved to be a child; careless and reckless and imaginative. Yet, he had been thrust into situations that many adults couldn't even survive. It made Haley question her own strength.

She wish she could be as strong as Jamie was.

"Yeah, he's out cold." Haley mumbled to Nathan, making her way to her side of the bed. She monotonously undid the duvet and the sheet, fluffing up her pillow just like she liked it. Nathan noticed her robotic like movements and he scooted closer over towards her, desperately trying to repair the interaction he had had with Haley earlier. He had to leave for his next game in Chicago tomorrow night and he wasn't going to leave Haley like he had the last time. Haley deserved better and Nathan was determined to be that better version of him – for her. "Nathan." Haley let out a breathy sigh as he placed his hand against her thigh. It was late and honestly speaking, Haley was tired.

Of everything.

"I'm sorry, Haley," Nathan's mouth was pressed close to Haley's ear, his minty breathe fanning across her face. Small wisps of her hair blew majestically and Nathan, like always, was mesmerised by his wife's natural beauty. She wasn't even looking at him but Nathan felt enthralled by the simplicity of her: the calmness in her mocha eyes, the crimson tint to her cheeks, and the exaggeration of her cheekbones. She was perfect. "I … I don't want things to be like this. I don't want this for you, babe, but … it is what it is and I am sorry for that-"

"I don't want you to apologise for living your dream, Nate," Haley tried to scoot away from Nathan but his arms flew out, as if it were a reflex, trapping her against his side. Dropping her forehead against his bulky arm, Haley spoke again. "I want you to apologise for leaving the way that you did, for not even trying to explain any of this to Jamie, for not turning up to his game-"

"God, I feel terrible for letting him down the way that I did." And, Nathan did - feel terrible. "I wish I could have been there."

Nathan didn't want to be Dan Scott. It was the one thing that had had him freaked when Haley was pregnant with Jamie. Dan and Deb Scott weren't exactly cereal box parents and Nathan was absolutely frightened that he would follow in their footsteps. And, for a fraction of time, Nathan had done just that. After his bar accident, Nathan had blocked out Haley and Jamie and had spent four whole months sulking. He had drunk too much and he had watched his family slip out of his fingers. The similarities – at the time – between Dan and Nathan were uncanny.

Nathan didn't want to be in such a dark place again.

"I know that," Haley rubbed at Nathan's arm leisurely. "But, Jamie doesn't know that. Nobody outside of Tree Hill knows that." Nathan internally groaned; it always came back to this … the fact that Haley and Jamie were being kept in the dark from the media. Nathan knew how his wife felt about the whole ordeal and he didn't want to argue with her, not tonight. He had too much to apologise for first.

"I am so proud to call him my son." Nathan answered honestly. Jamie was a fantastic basketball player and Nathan was grateful that Skills and Lucas had taught Jamie most of what he knew.

"Shall I tell you what's worst, the morning after his game, Jamie turned on the TV and there you were, your face was plastered across the news; videos of you walking out of Clay's beach house, pictures of you partying." Haley let out a dry chuckle, her mind drifting back to that moment. "How are you meant to explain that to a child? How do you tell him that his father's in town and he didn't even bother to call? How do you tell your child that his father broke a promise so that he could have a few beers and listen to some tacky house music-"

"Haley!" Nathan pleaded, not wanting to hear any of what she was telling him. He didn't want to hear any of it because … he knew she was right. "I am so, so sorry," Nathan leaned in slowly, placing an open-mouthed kiss against Haley's collarbone. "Please forgive me," Haley felt her breathing hitch abruptly in her throat. Nathan hadn't shaved today and the stubble on his cheek brushed erotically against the fleshy skin on her throat. "Forgive me." His kisses began to travel across her exposed skin; from her forearm to her shoulder to her collar before making its stop at her neck. Subconsciously, Haley's held fell backwards against the headboard, giving Nathan a wider range of access to her skin.

Slowly, tantalisingly, Nathan flicked his tongue out, licking his way up to Haley's hesitant lips. Nathan purposefully stopped a few centimetres away from her, the tips of their noses brushing against each other as they inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Please," Nathan inched even closer. He was so close; Haley could smell his natural musk and the flavouring to his mouth wash. It was weird because the scent seemed to have Haley plummeting back to a time when Nathan and her had just started dating – the honeymoon phase. Haley remembered feeling giddy and rebellious every time Nathan dragged her into the janitor's closet at school just so that they could covertly kiss. She remembered the way her heart pounded crazily in her chest and she remembered feeling like the most clichéd teenage girl in the world. She also felt like that now. "Forgive." Nathan placed his hands on either side of Haley's slim figure. "Me." As if an animal had suddenly taken possession of her body, Haley grabbed at either side of Nathan's face and pulled him towards her. Their mouths met in a violent, passion filled kiss that seemed to stop time.

"Nathan." A breathless moan slipped through Haley's now swollen lips.

There was just something so magical about his touch … it sent sparks straight through Haley. All of her worries dissolved and an unexpected calmness seemed to filter into her body. Everybody in the world froze, the monotone living room clock stopped ticking, Jamie stopped snoring … everything was still and good and simple.

She was at home, truly at home.

"God, I love you." Nathan pecked Haley's lips gently, his hands delving into her thick locks of hair. The pads of his thumbs rubbed at Haley's scalp and she leaned into his touch. Nathan pulled his knees up to his chest and cradled Haley in his lap. Her small frame perched itself on top of him and he swayed her body from left to right absentmindedly. It was as if she was a child and he was the parent, trying to comfort her over a trivial matter. The two sat in absolute silence for minutes, relishing in the feeling of each other. Haley's eyes fluttered closed, her ears straining to focus on the rhythmic thumping of Nathan's heart. The continuous beating was oddly relaxing and Haley found herself drifting … closer and closer towards blissful sleep. "I don't want to leave tomorrow."

She was now wide awake.

"What?" Haley rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her gaze focusing on Nathan in a scrutinising manner.

"I'm, leaving, tomorrow." Nathan paused between each word like a Haley was a child that was unable to comprehend what he was saying. "We're playing in Chicago tomorrow-"

"You're leaving already?" Haley's first reaction was anger. She wanted to be angry at Nathan for leaving yet again. The mental image of Jamie realising Nathan was gone again was enough to make Haley see red. Whether Nathan was Jamie's father or not, Haley's maternal instinct kicked into full force at the thought of somebody hurting her son. She wanted to throw something or break something but, she knew she couldn't. Haley couldn't be angry at Nathan for doing what he loved. She had done a similar thing by leaving him to go on tour when she was sixteen. Going on tour had been one of the greatest moments in her life and Haley knew playing basketball – league basketball – was Nathan's tour. It was his stage. He deserved to be happy, whether that was with or without her.

Haley's next reaction was sadness. Just as quick as her reconciliation with Nathan had occurred it was going to disappear. It was going to disappear just like he was. A deep sinking feeling filled Haley's gut and she felt the briny tears spring to her eyes; she didn't hold them back. She cried. She pushed Nathan away and cried. Her head fell into her knees and her whole body shook and Nathan stared at her helplessly. Like earlier, every time he reached for her … she pushed him away. She had to keep pushing him away … pushing people away was the easiest – and most cowardly – way to stop yourself from getting hurt again. "I … I can't do this, Nate." Haley chocked out between sobs. "I can't-"

"You can't do what?" Haley got up from the bed, her hands clutching her feather-like pillow to her chest.

"I'm sorry … I can't." Haley made her way downstairs and Nathan couldn't muster the physical or emotional strength to follow her.

Once downstairs, Haley threw her body against the couch. The usually comfortable sofa felt hard and uncomfortable and her body tossed and turned as she prayed for sleep to consume her.

After hours and hours of twisting and fidgeting and kicking and yawning, it finally came. Darkness finally welcomed her with open arms. But, just like Nathan, the darkness left as quickly as it came and Haley was awoken by a blinding yellow light – the light of a new day, an awfully cheery day.

"Are you okay?" Lucas rubbed Haley's back gingerly, his touch sending warmth up her freezing cold skin. "Jesus, Hales, you're freezing." Lucas' hand practically snapped back away from Haley as if he had been electrocuted. Haley was currently lying upon her couch in a pair of cropped sweatpants and a tank top. Despite the raging heat in Tree Hill, Haley's already pale skin seemed to look even more so; like somebody had sucked the light out of her. She didn't look healthy in the slightest. She looked frail and skinny and Lucas couldn't help but feel his paternal instinct rise at the sight of Haley in such a state.

"Can you turn the heater on, please?" Lucas grabbed a blanket from beside her, draping it flimsily across her body. Haley's voice was shaky and her body trembled lightly as she hugged the blanket as if it were her life line.

"Haley, it's boiling in here." A thin strip of perspiration had formed upon Lucas' upper lip and he stared down at Haley with a worried expression. "How about this, you stay down here and I'll go grab you some warmer clothes, okay?" Lucas didn't even wait for an answer; he smiled meekly at his best friend before proceeding upstairs. However, Lucas was around long enough to hear a gentle, thank you, escape Haley's lips. Lucas smiled before knocking on the master bedroom door gently. "Nate?" Lucas asked warily. "You in here?"

"Yeah, come on in." Lucas stuck his head around the door to find Nathan towel drying his hair before the salon mirror. Black bags were visible under Nathan's eyes and Lucas pat his back in a brotherly manner before collapsing onto the heavenly soft mattress. Lucas' body bounced upwards and downwards before it settled into a comfortable position. "What's up?" Nathan threaded his bulky arms into his camisole with a nonchalant flare to him and Lucas had the urge to send his fist flying into the back of Nathan's head.

"Are you serious, man?" Lucas rested the side of his head on his hand, his whole body turned so that it was facing Nathan. "Have you not seen what Haley looks like?" Nathan turned in his seat dramatically; his movement was slow and rigid and Luke could all most feel his internal clock tick.

"I know she's upset, God, so am I but … after everything that's happened, I'm not willing to let go of my dream just yet-" Nathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Lucas all most felt bad for his half-brother. After the bar brawl that had injured his spine, the psycho nanny, his wife asking for a divorce, his son being kidnapped and saved by their murderer of a father; Nathan had been through enough to put a sane person in a mental institution. But, Haley had gone through equally as much as by Nathan's side and this whole scenario wasn't fair to either her or Jamie.

"I'm not talking about the Bobcats deal," Lucas wanted to tell Nathan that he was an idiot for leaving Haley alone but right now, he had bigger, more important fish to fry. "I'm talking about Haley's health – it's not normal for her to look the way that she does-"

"Look the way that she does? What are you talking about?" Nathan's eyebrows frowned together to form one line and ironically enough, Lucas' did the exact the same thing. Had Nathan not laid eyes on his wife today? Lucas had no college degree but, he was smart enough to see that Haley needed to see a doctor.

"She looks like walking death, Nate," Lucas wasn't even going to sugar coat it, not when it came to Haley and her wellbeing. "The girl's running a body temperature of at least sixty Fahrenheit and there is absolutely no colour in her skin; do you know how dangerous that is? Did you not even consider taking her to the hospital?"

"Haley didn't even sleep in here; I haven't seen her since last night." Nathan face-palmed. His thumb pads rubbed at his lazy eyes, trying to drive away the restlessness present within him. The truth was, Nathan hadn't been sleeping properly. Nathan's nights usually consisted of a lot of feverish tossing and turning and yearning for Haley – his family. Last night had been no different. Nathan was at home yet thousands of miles away from it. His home wasn't home without the Haley and Jamie he knew and loved. "We got into a little argument last night and she didn't come in here … I just figured she'd fallen asleep with Jamie. I wanted to give her the space she wanted so-"

"You didn't check on her?" Lucas knew the answer to his own question but Nathan's guilty reaction was solid confirmation. "Nathan, she spends all of her time alone, she gets more space than she bargained for! Listen, I know it isn't my place to say anything but … this isn't healthy, not for you, her, or Jamie."

"I … I don't know what to do, Luke. I'm just tired of failing. " Raw emotion was dripping from Nathan's voice. He sounded like the mixed up teenage boy that Lucas once despised; confused and broken and lonely. "Do you remember when Haley was pregnant with Jamie?" Lucas simply nodded in agreement. "We didn't really tell anyone but, we were having serious money problems: our lights were being turned off, we didn't have hot water and Haley had to eat chocolate chips for breakfast. We were scrounging of the bare minimums; it was why I was messing with Dante … I was trying to give Haley the life she deserved."

"Nate-"

"And, when I saw her lying on the floor the night of the championship, blood dripping from her head, her hands clutching her stomach … it scared me to death. I thought I had lost her … lost our son. Haley's always been my life, Jamie too and everything I've ever done was for this family, my family. After my paralysis accident I went on this downward spiral and I broke Haley … She was struggling to pay bills and go to work and look after Jamie-" Nathan's voice cracked and Lucas moved closer to him, as if his presence would somehow comfort him. It didn't. "I don't want that for Haley again. You've seen her, Lucas; you've grown up with her. She's every guy's dream; smart, beautiful, talented. Sometimes, I just feel like I'm going to lose her. Sometimes, this all just feels like a dream that's too good to be true."

"You're not losing Haley, Nathan," Lucas put a heavy hand to Nathan's shoulder. "You're driving her away." Before the tension in the room grew anymore thicker, the high pitched doorbell rang throughout the house, summoning both Nathan and Lucas downstairs; Jamie also.

Lucas couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth tilt upwards at the baseball in Jamie's hands whereas Nathan couldn't stop staring at it in confusion. Jamie enjoyed basketball, didn't he? From what Nathan knew, Jamie always wanted to follow in his footsteps: join the Ravens, play varsity and then progress to the NBA. Nathan didn't realise Jamie had an interest basketball. Actually, Nathan didn't know much about Jamie's hobbies or his interests outside of the fact that he played basketball and video games with Skills.

"Did we actually order that pizza?" Jamie asked Lucas, his eyebrows frowned together rather adorably.

"No, I thought it was just discussed." Lucas and Jamie – and Haley – spent their Friday nights together. Usually, Nathan spent his time in the gym or previously, practising with the Chiefs, so, the rest of the Scott clan rented a movie and ate as much greasy food as scientifically possible. Today was no exception. However, neither Luke nor Jamie had had their traditional I-want-Hawaiian-but-I-want-plain-cheese argument.

Lucas draped an arm around Jamie's shoulders – Nathan following – and progressed towards the living room. Not as expected, the couch was empty when Lucas looked down at it. Haley's cashmere blanket was clumsily thrown onto the floor and the cushions were dishevelled, here and there. Due to the state Haley was in early, Lucas was startled that she had managed to move everything around as much as she had … let alone get up to answer the door. "Haley?"

"Hales?" Nathan took in the sight of a worried Lucas and he realised he was obliged to be too. Lucas wasn't the type of person to worry for no reason and that was enough to make Nathan worry about Haley … his relationship with Haley.

As the trio turned the bend towards the front door, the first thing they noticed was an edible pizza thrown across the floor. Streaks of tomato and stringy cheese were strewn across the oak floorboards and the overwhelming smell was strong and sweltering in the prominent heat. "What in the-?"

The next thing the trio saw was even more surprising than a perfectly good pizza wasted. Simultaneous gasps escaped each of their mouths, neither one of them sure how to comprehend the situation before them. Nathan felt his heart stop within his chest and Jamie's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets … Lucas, Lucas felt guilt swarm violently within him – he shouldn't have left Haley alone. The pizza man was kneeling at the door, his cap shielding his face; his arms outstretched, Haley lying limply in them. His hand was cupping her cheek whilst the other tried to shake her body awake.

She wasn't moving.

"Somebody help!" The pizza man's deep voice yelled for assistance but he suddenly noticed the added presences in the room and jumped, startled. He looked up from a long row of eyelashes, absolute fright evident in his green eyes. "Call nine-one-one, she's … she's … I'm not sure if she's breathing." His voice was full of panic and it was enough to set Nathan into action. Nathan lurched from his standing position, pushing Lucas aside dismissively before crouching down beside Haley's lifeless body. Nathan selfishly – and he didn't seem to care – grabbed Haley out of the stranger's arms, his briny tears dropping straight from his eyes and onto Haley's eerily blue face.

"Haley, baby, Haley," Nathan repeated the mantra as he tried to instigate some kind of reaction from her body. He placed a warm hand to her chest, the soft feeling of her heartbeat pulsated through his hand and he let out a sigh of relief. "She's breathing." He said to nobody in particular.

"Nathan," Lucas' voice carried an all most warning tone to it and Nathan snapped his eyes upwards. "Her … her legs." Pain raced through Nathan's veins, his eyes descending to Haley's exposed legs … But, they weren't bare anymore. They were covered.

Her legs were covered in blood.