Chapter 7

Nathan pulled into the driveway of his new home. Haley was going to love it. Deb and Dan had helped him buy it as their present to the family. Nathan noticed his parents cars in the driveway. He got out of the car and went inside. Everything was coming along at a really fast pace. Deb was doing all the designing and she was buying tons of furniture. Almost the entire home was furnished now.

"Mom! Dad!" Nathan yelled as he carried the new t.v. he bought into the living room. Deb and Dan came running down the stairs. Dan helped Nathan put the t.v. down.

"What's that for?" Deb asked Nathan.

"Haley's new song is being played on TRL today and I don't wanna miss it..." Nathan spoke as he plugged in all the cords.

"But we already have t.v.'s," Dan argued.

"Yeah but not like this. Not flat screen and not this big either," Nathan smirked.

Dan helped Nathan finish setting up the satalite for the t.v.

"Okay, we still have two hours 'til TRL starts... What can I do to help out?" Nathan asked his parents.

"Well, we want you to see the nursery," Deb began, "We have a surprise for you."

Nathan followed his parents into the newly finished nursery. It had two cribs, two changing tables, two toy boxes, two separate closets. There was two of everything in there. Nathan smiled as he looked around. Dan handed Nathan two boxes. Nathan opened them. Inside the first one was a baby size Duke jersey with Scott printed on the back. Nathan smiled even more. In the other box was a baby size Duke cheerleading uniform.

"Thank you," Nathan smiled as he hugged his parents.

"We're not sure if you still plan on going to Duke in the fall, we completely understand if you dont think you can... but we just want you to know that whatever you decide we're going to be proud of you..." Nathan's mom almost became teary eyed.

"Yeah, for the first time I agree with your mom. I know it's really important for you to be a good father to Nate and Dakota... but, maybe things could work out where you could still go to Duke too... Just think about it okay," Dan pleaded. Nathan just nodded. He hadn't even thought about Duke until today. He had three months until he was supposed to leave.

"I really appreciate you guys doing this for me and Haley... Did you fix her separate room up?" Nathan asked.

Dan and Deb nodded.

"We still don't understand why you want her to have her own room..." Dan began.

"I told you, I don't want her to feel pressured into anything right away."

"Well what about the other surprise you have for her?" Deb asked.

"I still want you to keep working on it and plan for it to happen in about two weeks. That's when she and the babies are supposed to come home..."

"What if she doesn't want it Nathan?" Dan asked.

"She will. I know it." Nathan smiled.

Nathan, Deb, and Dan all watched Haley on TRL. They even showed pictures of the babies. Deb got weepy in the middle of it.

"She is so beautiful, son," Dan patted Nathan on the shoulder.

"I know it," Nathan smiled.

As soon as Haley was finished on TRL, Nathan dialed her cell phone.

"Hey honey!" She answered.

"Hey, you were beautiful on t.v., but mom and I think you still look better in person..."

"Nathan," Haley giggled.

"How are 'Daddy's Little Angels'?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I'm on my way to the hospital now. Dr. Forbes let Lucas stay with them while I was gone, but Luke left a message telling me that Dr. Forbes is releasing them tomorrow. Isn't that great?" Haley asked excitedly.

"That is awesome. I just thought I had about two more weeks before you guys came home. I don't know if everything will be ready by then. I won't even be able to make it up there in time to bring you all home." Nathan spoke sadly.

"It's okay," Haley smiled, "we'll just ride home with Lucas and we'll make do the best we can with the house until it's ready, okay?"

"Okay," Nathan agreed, "I love you and tell my babies I love them too."

"Alright, we love you too!"

They hung up. Deb and Dan noticed how tense Nathan had just become.

"What's wrong? Are the babies okay?" Deb asked concerned.

"Yeah, they're better than fine actually. They're being released tomorrow and Lucas is driving them all home. We have to push up the plans for her surprise," Nathan spoke with a rushed tone in his voice.

"Well, okay. We'll call Karen and Keith and Brooke and Peyton to help..."

"I don't think Brooke will help after the whole Ashley fiasco..." Nathan started.

"Won't hurt to ask," Dan said as he began dialing numbers in his phone.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Haley sat in th hospital lobby drinking coffee as they waited for the babies to finished being prepared to leave.

"I'm really glad everything is working out for you and Nathan again," Lucas spoke as he sipped his coffee.

"Me too. I have never stopped caring for him. Infact, I would do anything for him..." Haley smiled.

"Would you marry him again?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, but we're still married. The divorce was never finalized."

"I know. I talked to Brooke today for the first time since before I left," Lucas began.

"Oh, really? What's going on with the two of you?"

"Well, we've been dating again but not exclusively... She's dating this other guy Felix too. I thought she was really going to hate me after Nathan dumped her cousin."

"Is she mad at me?" Haley asked.

"No, far from it, infact. She couldn't be more thrilled that you're coming home and getting back with Nathan. Seems she hated Ashley, especially while Ash was living with her. But, Brooke said that Ashley moved back home to California, so you won't have anything to worry about."

"Well that's nice to know. I can't wait to see Brooke and Peyton. I have missed them so much."

"Peyton hasn't really been around that much lately. She kinda got into the wrong crowd after you left... but maybe things will change when you're back home. Anyway, you should see the house Nathan bought for you..."

"You're going to live there too, right?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I can't wait to be a live in nanny..." Lucas laughed.

"Hey, you won't be a nanny. The way I see it, Nathan and I will not want to let the babies out of our sight." Haley grinned.

Meanwhile, back in Tree Hill, Peyton, Brooke, Mouth, Deb, Dan, Karen, and Keith had all gotten together to finish Nathan's surprise for Haley.

"You're sure this is her size?" Deb asked Karen as they finished sewing up the dress they had gotten. Karen nodded.

"Nathan, do you like all the flowers? Are they in the right spots?" Brooke and Peyton asked. Nathan nodded, grinning.

"The music..." Mouth started.

"Everything is perfect, thank you!" Nathan smiled at everyone, "Now will you all please go home and get ready and come back in two hours. Lucas just called telling me that they'll be here in three hours."

Everyone began scattering for Nathan's surprise.

TBC!