SEVEN: Pictures
"Haley? Oh, honey, what is it?" Deb rushed to sit down beside Haley on the living room couch when she saw that her daughter-in-law had begun to cry.
Haley was holding a picture of Nathan as a little boy, which she'd found sitting on the end table.
"Everything's gone," she sniffled. "All of our pictures… I don't have pictures like this of James… they're all gone; even his sonogram pictures are gone, I can't replace those. All of his baby clothes… We were going to use those for this baby if it's a boy. I don't know what we're going to do now."
"Well, sweetheart, don't worry. We'll help you, okay? Things can only get better from here, right?" Deb put her arms around Haley and tried to speak words that would comfort her. Haley's tears continued and Deb concluded that her efforts at condolence weren't very effective, so she called out her son's name.
It had only been a few days since Nathan and Haley had lost everything in the horrible fire that destroyed their apartment. They were living with Nathan's parents until they could get back on their feet and Haley was having a particularly hard time coping with all that had happened.
When Nathan entered the room and found his wife in tears, his forehead furrowed.
"The family pictures set her off this time," Deb explained quietly.
Nathan blew out a long breath and took his mother's spot next to Haley on the couch when Deb stood and slipped silently away.
"It's all gone," she repeated to her husband, sniffling and melding against him when he wrapped her up in his arms. "The fire took everything; there's nothing left."
"I know, baby," he murmured, stroking her hair. "But they're just things, okay? You've got to remember that. What's important is that you and James got out. We're together and we're safe." Nathan put his free hand to Haley's stomach and gave it an affectionate rub. " And that's what matters, right?"
"Right," Haley squeaked, nodding her head as a whimper made her shoulders shake.
"Oh, Hales," Nathan cooed, tightening his hold on her and lightly touching his lips to her hair. "I know you're sad and I know this is hard for you; it's hard for me too but I promise you, Haley, we'll come out of this on the other side. For better or worse is what we said in our marriage vows, right? Well, this is our worse."
"It doesn't get much worse than this, does it?" Haley mumbled glumly. She sniffled again, clinging to a handful of Nathan's shirt as she continued to cuddle close to him underneath the sheltering protection of his strong arm.
Nathan chuckled. "No, it does not," he said with a shake of his head. He just sat and held her, watching her for awhile.
"Hey," he rasped, his voice husky with pure adoration. When she turned her head to meet his gaze, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and whispered, "I love you. It's going to be okay."
A very adorable smile lit up her tearstained face. "Every time you say that to me, I believe you," she murmured, keeping her voice soft to match his.
"You must really love me back, huh?" he grinned.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely," she nodded, mirroring his grin.
"Yeah? Why don't you prove it, then?" Nathan challenged, leaning closer to her face and breathing the words against her lips.
Haley giggled before she captured her husband's mouth with her own.
…
"Haley!" Nathan called up the stairs. "Would you please come down, babe? Dinner's almost ready."
"Daddy, look at me!" James called excitedly.
Nathan turned and found James balancing precariously on the back of the living room couch.
"James, get down!" he sternly commanded. "You do not climb on the furniture, do you hear me? Go into the dining room and sit down at the table."
James glumly obeyed, sulking all the way to his seat.
"Haley, what's wrong?" Nathan questioned, facing the stairs again. "Are you feeling sick or something? Do you want me to---?"
"Daddy!" James shouted from the dining room.
Nathan bit the inside of his cheek and blew out a ragged breath.
"What, James?" When he responded, he sounded worn-out and irritated at the same time.
"Will you sit next to me? I'm saving the chair for you."
An affectionate grin softened Nathan's tense face when he said, "Sure, buddy. I wouldn't want to sit next to anybody else."
"Not even Mommy?" James giggled mischievously.
"Haley!" Nathan called his wife's name again, having been reminded of her by James' mention of "Mommy."
"Would you shush?" Haley finally appeared at the top of the stairs, frowning in her husband's direction.
"Well, what the heck were you doing up there for so long?" Nathan grumbled with furrowed eyebrows. He watched as she carefully descended the stairs.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Nathan!" Haley exclaimed, balling her hands into fists and speaking through clenched teeth. "I was peeing, all right? Can I pee?"
From where he was sitting in the dinning room, James began to giggle again.
"Why didn't you just say that?" Nathan took her hand and helped down the last few steps.
"Oh, well, next time I will," Haley said sarcastically. "I'll just pop the door right open and yell that I'm on the toilet so the whole house can hear about it."
James was in hysterics at this point.
"Could you calm down?" Nathan scowled, glancing at her sideways as they entered the dining room hand-in-hand. "I just worry about you, okay? Especially when you're pregnant."
Haley sighed and rubbed one of her temples in a tired kind of way. "I'm sorry, Nathan, I'm sorry. I'm just… my nerves are just kind of shot."
"I know, babe. Mine are too," Nathan said, pulling out the chair on the other side of James so she could sit down.
"Hi, Mommy," James chirped, perking up in his seat and flashing an adorable smile. He could sense his mother's distress and he wanted to ease it somehow.
"Hello, Sweet Baby James." Haley's own face lifted, responding to James' cheerfulness, and she reached out to run her fingers through his silky brown hair.
"Mommy, I'm four," James reminded her, his expression very serious now. "I'm a big boy."
"Do you know what?" Haley spoke softly and leaned close to her son, acting as if she were going to share some earth-shattering secret.
"What?" James whispered back to her, tilting his head and leaning eagerly toward his mother.
"Even when you're twenty-four, you're still going to be my baby," Haley murmured against his ear.
James' mouth stretched into another sweet smile and he threw his arms around his mother, giving her cheek a sloppy kiss.
Nathan watched this exchange with tender amusement in his eyes before he got up and moved into the kitchen.
"Hey," he said, startling his parents.
Dan was at the sink, washing a bowlful of salad greens and Deb was at the stove, stirring something around in a big pot.
"Hi, Nate," they said in hurried unison.
"Are you sure you guys don't need help in here?" Nathan pressed. He and Haley had both offered to help with the dinner earlier, but Deb and Dan refused, citing the apartment fire and the fact that Haley was pregnant as reasons why they did not need to help cook.
"No," Deb firmly responded. "You've been through such an ordeal, Nathan. You're guests in my house---."
"Our house," Dan corrected, grinning when his wife shot him a look.
"You're guests in our house," she corrected herself, "and guests in our house don't cook."
"Really? So, what did you consider me to be while I was growing up?" Nathan joked. "I mean, you made me cook and clean and…."
"While you were growing up, we always thought of you as an indentured servant," Dan chuckled. "And you weren't really a very good one. In total, how many times did you cook or clean anything while you were living here?"
"Uhhh…" Nathan smirked.
"Exactly," Dan laughed, crossing his arms over his chest.
From where she stood in front of the stove, Deb watched all of this with a mixture of joyful amazement and gratitude. She had been so sure that Nathan and Dan's relationship was beyond repair, but the arrival of little James had closed the rift between them. The birth of her grandson had been miraculous in more ways than one.
Behind her, a potholder that she'd left laying across one of the pots' lids slid, and landed on the burner. It caught fire and within seconds, the house's smoke alarm was blaring. Deb turned the burner off, grabbed the potholder by one of the corners that wasn't burning, and rushed to the sink with it; she dropped it into the basin and turned the tap water on to quench the flames.
When the smoke alarm went off, Nathan immediately ran into the dining room. He nearly slammed into a panic-stricken Haley, who was rushing to get to him in the kitchen. She was cradling a howling James close to her chest.
"Ssshh," Nathan soothed his crying wife by wrapping her shivering body up in his arms. "It's all right, it's okay. Something started burning in the kitchen, but everything's okay now," he explained, deciding not to go into detail. "Don't cry, don't cry. I've got you."
…
"Daddy. Daddy." Young James was following his father down the second-story hallway of Deb and Dan's expansive house, hanging on the back of Nathan's jeans.
"James," Nathan snapped, "what is it? What's wrong with you now?" James had been shadowing him since the near-disaster at dinner and his patience was wearing thin.
James took a step back when Nathan shouted at him. His big brown eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip poked out in the most pathetic pout Nathan had ever seen; James looked like one of those porcelain Precious Moments figurines that Nathan's grandmother liked to collect.
Nathan blew out a breath of self-loathing and crouched down in front of his son. Speaking in a gentler tone, he repeated his question.
"Hug," James requested, spreading his arms wide.
Nathan pulled James close and held him tight. "This is what you wanted?" he asked. "Are you still feeling scared?"
"Yeah," James admitted, nodding his head.
"Well, you don't need to be scared. Do you know why?"
"Why?" James was on his tip-toes, clinging to Nathan's neck.
"Because I'm your daddy and I love you and I'll always protect you."
James' eyes crinkled at the corners when he broke into a wide smile. He gave his father's cheek a pat that was really more of a smack and said, "I love you too, Daddy."
"All right, come on, Superman." Nathan scooped James up and slung him over one shoulder. "Time for bed." He laughed at the sound of his son's high-pitched giggling.
"No, Dad," James said, speaking fearfully when he realized that his father was headed for the guestroom, where the little boy was supposed to sleep.
James had taken to sleeping with his parents in the bedroom that had been Nathan's while he was growing up. The previous night was the first and only time Nathan and Haley had been able to convince him to sleep in the guestroom.
"You don't want to have a bed all to yourself?" Nathan asked, hoping to sway his young son. He loved James and he would do anything for him, but the kid kicked in his sleep; and more often than not, Nathan would wake up on the floor.
"No," James whimpered pitifully. "I want you."
Nathan pulled James back over his shoulder and cradled him in his arms. Without saying anything else, he carried his little boy into the bedroom that he and his wife were sharing.
Haley was in the bathroom. When Nathan passed it, he could hear the shower running through the closed door.
Haley pushed the bedroom door open about thirty minutes later; she was dressed in her pajamas and her damp hair hung loosely down her back. She froze, biting uneasily on her bottom lip when she found that her husband and son were fast asleep under the bedcovers. James was snuggled up close to his father and one of Nathan's arms was draped over the boy's small shoulders.
Nathan stirred, drawing in a deep breath before his eyes fluttered open.
"Hey," he whispered groggily when he saw Haley standing motionless in the middle of the floor. "Are you going to come join us?" he grinned, choking back a yawn.
Haley approached the bed, practically tip-toeing. She looked down at her sleeping son and smiled tenderly.
"He loves you so much," she spoke to her husband in a whisper. "He worships you. You're like his hero."
"Come lay down," Nathan encouraged. He sensed that something else was bothering Haley and he wanted her to talk to him about it. He didn't like it when she was upset.
Haley crawled under the covers and curled up on the other side of James. She wrapped her arms around the little boy at the same time Nathan did and they took each other's hands, entwining their fingers.
"I feel like I let him down," Haley admitted after a minute, sniffling as she quietly cried in the darkness.
"What're you talking about?" Nathan squeezed her hand, perplexed.
"Since the fire, he's been following you around wherever you go. He looks to you for safety and assurance, not me. I just feel like… I feel like he doesn't trust me to protect him." Haley was trying to keep her emotions under control so she wouldn't wake James, but she was helpless to do anything but cry harder as her tears drenched her face.
"Haley, Haley, listen. Listen to me," Nathan whispered forcefully, tightening the hold he had on her hand. "You're a hero to him. You saved him; you got him out. You kept your head in a crisis. He loves you, Haley, you know he does; you're his mother. Do you know what else?" he went on when she didn't reply. When she turned her head and met his gaze in the moonlight he said, "You're a hero to me too. I'm so proud of you for getting yourself and our son out of that building safely. I know you must have been terrified." Nathan watched as Haley raised her eyes to the ceiling. He'd tried for days to get her to open up and talk about what had happened the night of the fire. It was clear to him that the fire had left his wife traumatized and he thought that maybe talking about it with him would help her, but so far, she hadn't said a word about it.
She released a shuddering breath before she whispered, "I think it must have started somewhere down the hall. There were flames outside the door; it was hot when I put my hand to it."
Nathan frowned, feeling his eyebrows furrow as he clutched Haley's fingers tighter.
"I took James in my arms and climbed out the window. That's how we got out. The fire hadn't reached the back of the building yet, but there was smoke. There was a lot of smoke. I was scared and I kept thinking about you and…"
Nathan brought Haley's hand to his lips and softly kissed it when he heard her voice begin to tremble. He'd never been so glad that they'd been living in a first-floor apartment. "I love you," he murmured hoarsely, fighting to keep his emotions in check. "Haley, I love you so much. Everything will turn around for us, you'll see. We'll be able to put this behind us. Do you believe me?"
"Yes," Haley nodded her head, grateful that her tears were finally beginning to slow. She laced her fingers even tighter through his and said, "As long as you're with me, I can believe anything."
…
A little over two weeks later, an energetic knock at the door made Lucas jolt.
"It's unlocked!" he called. He grinned when an effervescent Brooke stuck her head through the doorway and flashed a dazzling smile.
"Hi, Boyfriend," she chirped. He was sitting at the kitchen table so she came over to stand behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her chin on the top of his shoulder and asked, "Whatchya doin'?"
"Grading essays," he sighed, scribbling all over the paper in front of him with a red marker.
"Ew," Brooke made a face. "That sounds boring."
"Thank you, Brooke. You're making this a lot more enjoyable," Lucas joked, chuckling.
"You should take a break," Brooke giggled, nibbling playfully on his earlobe.
Lucas sort of laughed and groaned at the same time. "I… I can't right now," he stammered, wriggling to get her off of him.
"But I need your help," Brooke whisper-whined against his ear.
Lucas turned his head to look into his girlfriend's face. He smiled against her mouth when she kissed him.
"All right, fine. What is it?" he asked when she released his lips.
Looking pleased with herself, Brooke circled the table and sat down across from him. She plunked a large pile of one-hour photo packets down in front of her.
Lucas' eyebrows shot nearly to his hairline. "What in the world are those?"
"Pictures. I got negatives from Peyton, Haley's parents, and Nathan's parents. They're all of the pivotal events in Naley's history."
"Okay, you've really got to stop with the whole 'Naley' thing. Just call them Nathan and Haley. Those are their names," Lucas reminded her.
Brooke scowled and poked her tongue out at her boyfriend. "Lucas Scott, you're just no fun sometimes. Anyway, I got the wedding reception prints from Peyton, along with some of Naley while they were dating." Lucas glowered at her and she grinned before she continued with, "I got a whole bunch of pictures of Haley when she was pregnant from Lydia; she had a lot from the baby shower at Karen's Café too. I also have just about every picture ever taken of little James."
Lucas grabbed a packet from the top of the pile and pulled out the photos. As he flipped through them, he smiled. "Brooke, this is amazing. They're going to be so surprised."
"I know," Brooke shrugged, even more pleased with herself now. "The fire took everything from them. I just thought it would be nice for them to get back a little of what they lost. And, I mean, they've been living with Deb and Dan for the past two-and-a-half weeks. They must be ready to throw themselves out a window. Maybe these will help keep them from doing anything drastic."
Lucas put the pictures aside and tilted his head, gazing tenderly at Brooke from across the table. "You've got kind of an angelic side to you, do you know that?"
"Is that a compliment?" Brooke furrowed her forehead, looking confused.
"Yes," he laughed. "So, what are you going to do with all of these pictures?"
"Well, we are going to put them into these." Brooke reached into a shopping bag by her feet and plopped three huge leather photo albums down next to the stacks of pictures.
"This is going to take awhile," Lucas muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face.
"Hey, just be thankful we're not scrap booking," Brooke snapped, frowning.
…
"Aww," Lucas murmured, grinning nostalgically at a photo in his hand.
"What? Let me see," Brooke insisted. She sat up straighter in her seat and craned her neck, as if that would allow her to view something that was at the other end of the table. Lucas stretched his arm out to pass Brooke the picture. She reached for it and their hands met at the center of the table.
"Ohhh," Brooke cooed, smiling affectionately at the picture. It was one of James as a baby; he was in a bathtub and he had bubble bath suds all over the top of his head. "He was such an adorable baby," she laughed.
"I took that," Lucas spoke up. "Nathan was gone for basketball and I came over to help Haley. She let me give him his bath."
"Well, who knows, maybe someday the kids in the pictures will be yours." Brooke cautiously broached the subject of children again.
Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his chair. All he said before he started sorting through pictures again was, "Yeah."
"Is that all?" Brooke frowned.
"What else do you want me to say, Brooke?" Lucas grumbled, roughly forcing a picture into one of the albums.
"I don't know. Something more than 'yeah'!" she shouted.
"Oh, please don't start," Lucas sighed, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't get angry at me over this."
"I'm just… so frustrated," Brooke muttered, picking at the red polish on her thumbnail.
"Because I don't want to talk about babies?" Lucas was incredulous.
"Well… yes!" Brooke was shouting again. "I've tried to talk to you about this on lots of different occasions, but you always pull back. Either you don't want to marry me, or you just can't take a hint!"
"Whoa, okay, hold on." Lucas put his hands up in a let's-slow-this-thing-down kind of way and demanded, "Marriage?"
"Yes!" Brooke was practically pouting by this point. "I love you and I want to be your wife and I want to have a family with you…."
"Oh, geez," Lucas sputtered. He was feeling lightheaded. "Brooke, you're freaking me out. We're only twenty-two."
"We've been together since we were seventeen!" Brooke argued. "All of our friends are married! How much longer do you want to do this whole dating thing?"
"Our friends got married before they were even out of their teens!" Lucas countered. "I thought we agreed to let ourselves grow up. I thought we were going to work and make sure that we were stable financially before we---."
"Lucas, we're done with college. We're working. We're saving money. Don't you think we've accomplished what we said we wanted to accomplish?" Brooke was staying firm in her position.
"I'm not done with college," Lucas frowned. "I want to get my Master's."
"How long is that going to take?" Brooke demanded, shooting him a glare.
"I don't know," Lucas shrugged, staring at a spot on the carpet.
Brooke's glare intensified. "Is that really what's going on, or do you just not want to make a bigger commitment?"
Lucas covered his face with his hands, threw his head back and groaned her name. "Brrrrooooookkkkeeeee!"
"I'm ready to move forward, Lucas!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I'm not!" Lucas shouted. His expression was stormy and his tone clearly told her that he was finished discussing it.
Brooke shrank back in her seat, blinking back stunned tears. She shoved to her feet, hastily gathering up the pictures and albums and shoving them into the grocery bag she brought them over in.
"Oh, come on!" Lucas managed to sneer and plead at the same time. "Don't leave like this! Would you please sit down? We've still got to finish the photo albums."
"I'll finish them myself," Brooke growled, silently cursing when she felt the first hot tears roll down her cheeks. She hurried for the door and slammed it shut behind her before he could see her totally lose it.
…
"Man. This place is nice," Nathan looked around the extravagant interior of one of Tree Hill's swankiest restaurants in amazement. He turned searching blue eyes on Haley, who sat beside him at the white linen-swathed table, looking absolutely divine in an elegant black dress. She picked it because she thought it made her look a little less like a whale.
They were waiting for Skills and Bevin to arrive.
"What?" Haley asked, tilting her head to tenderly gaze at him. "You look like you want to ask me something."
"No, not exactly. I was just kind of wondering if I made the right decision."
Haley's eyebrows drew together and the corners of her mouth lifted in a tight-lipped smile, like she was trying to keep from laughing. "About…?" she prompted.
"About not going pro," he mumbled, taking a gulp of water from the fancy crystal goblet that had just been refilled by a tuxedo-clad waiter.
"Nathan---." Haley began to try and reassure him, but he spoke again before she could even get half a sentence out.
"I just feel like I could have given you and James more if I'd stuck with playing basketball; I feel like you deserve more than you've got. I mean, I'd love to take you out to places like this all the time." He spread his arms to encompass the fancy restaurant.
Haley's eyes glistened, becoming even tenderer. She put her palm to his cheek and her touch was like silk. "I don't care about stuff like that. You know that. I'm more of a karaoke bar type of girl anyway." She smiled when he did and concluded with, "I love the life I have with you and I wouldn't want things to be any different."
"How do you do that?" he marveled, covering her hand with his to keep her palm pressed to his cheek. "Anytime I'm feeling down about something, you know exactly what to say to lift me up again."
"It's a gift," she giggled, leaning close to gently kiss his lips. "Speaking of, I've got something else for you." She reached for her black clutch and opened it, pulling out a fuzzy black and white sonogram photo. "I went to the doctor today," she told him, handing him the photo.
Nathan stared at the picture and furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay, what exactly am I looking at here?" He raised his eyes to look elatedly into her face, no longer confused. "Do you know what it is?"
Haley nodded, laughing when she realized that her eyes had begun to tear up. This baby had been… camera shy for quite some time, so finally being able to find out the sex was exciting.
Nathan looked back and forth between the picture and his wife's face. He became impatient when he couldn't discern anything from the photo and eagerly demanded, "What is it?"
Haley smiled again and all she said was, "Well, James is going to be happy."
Nathan let out a laughing whoop that caused heads to turn and he crushed Haley's lips with a dizzyingly overwhelming kiss. After the hardships they'd faced--- and were still facing--- because of the fire, this was a blessing. Things were good and they would only get better from here; they had to.
"Dang, dawg." Skills and Bevin had just arrived at the table, led by the maitre d'. Skills and the maitre d' were gaping open-mouthed at Nathan and Haley's public display of affection. Bevin smiled and cooed, "Awww."
"It's a boy," Nathan chuckled, like a child in his joy. "We're having a boy."
"Yeeeah!" Skills hooted, pumping his fist as he laughed. He turned to the maitre d' and put his hand on the bewildered man's shoulder. "Bring out a bottle of your best champagne."
"Skills!" Nathan, Haley and Bevin exclaimed.
"Oh, no, see, no…" Skills sputtered when he realized what he'd said. "Scratch the champagne. Sparkling cider instead."
…
The next morning, which was Saturday, Nathan and Haley had everybody gather together in the living room. Deb and Dan sat side-by-side on the couch and James climbed into his father's lap. Nathan was sitting on the arm of the chair that Haley was occupying.
"We have something really exciting to tell you," Haley smiled, looking into James' sweet puppy-dog brown eyes.
Deb gasped and grabbed for Dan's hand. "Do you know what you're having?" she asked breathlessly.
"It's a boy," Nathan announced, beaming with pride.
"A brother?" James yelped joyously over his grandparents' exclamations of delight. He giggled, bouncing gleefully in Nathan's lap. "I knew it was a brother!"
"We were wondering if you wanted to help us pick out a name for him, buddy." Nathan gave James' little back an affectionate rub.
"Superman!" James declared without a moment of hesitation.
All of the grown-ups laughed hysterically.
"Superman Scott, huh?" Nathan chuckled, raising a hand to rub at his teary eyes. "Well, that's… that's very original, but maybe we could talk about some other names before we settle on one. Okay?"
With the help of Deb and Dan (Deb was a little overzealous about the whole thing), they soon compiled a list of possible names. After some discussion, they narrowed the list down even more. James had the final say and he decided on Joshua, because it made a "J" sound, like his name. Following a bit more debate, a middle name was chosen. Nathan and Haley's second son would be known as Joshua Michael Scott.
James hopped down from his father's lap and climbed up onto Haley's chair, squeezing himself in next to his mother. He reached out and gently patted her belly with his tiny hand. "Hi, Joshy," he cooed.
Haley smiled, smoothing her son's hair. "You're going to be a good big brother, huh?" she said. Her smile widened when James nodded vigorously and began to softly rub her stomach.
…
The next morning, the bell above the door of Brooke's clothing boutique jingled.
"Get out of my store," Brooke grumbled, keeping her eyes lowered as she continued to scribble on a pad of paper.
"I want to talk to you," Lucas said insistently. "I've been trying to call you for days."
"And I haven't picked up. What does that tell you?" Brooke slammed her pen down and raised wrathful hazel eyes to her boyfriend's unsmiling face.
"Is this how it's going to be?" Lucas demanded, spreading his arms wide. "You're going to punish me because I don't want to get married?"
Brooke's eyes narrowed. "Which is it?" she questioned quietly.
"What?" Lucas was quickly becoming exasperated.
"The last time we talked, you said you didn't want to get married right now. Today, you're saying you don't want to get married period. Which is it?" she growled.
Lucas was at a loss for a minute and Brooke looked like she might start crying. "Listen," he pleaded when he found his voice. "Brooke, I love you, okay?"
"Just not enough to marry me," she sniffled, nodding.
"Why are you so hung up on getting married all of a sudden?" he fumed, raking his fingers through his disheveled blonde hair.
"This is not sudden," Brooke snapped. "I've wanted to marry you for a long time, Lucas, and you know it. You're the man I want to be my husband."
"I don't… I'm not ready," he stammered lamely, unable to hold her gaze anymore. "I've still got things I want to do with my life before I settle down. I wouldn't be a good husband right now."
"I could help you---," Brooke tried.
"Why can't we just stay the way we are? What's wrong with dating?" Lucas met Brooke's eyes again, aggravated.
"We've been dating for five years," Brooke sniffled. "How much longer do you want to wait?"
"I don't know," he mumbled, dropping his eyes again and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I want to make sure it's right."
Brooke snorted. "If you're not sure of that after five years, you'll probably never figure it out."
Lucas had reached his breaking point with all of this marriage stuff and it showed in his expression. His mouth set in a straight line, his eyebrows dropped, and his blue eyes became thunderous. "You know what, it's obvious that we're just not on the same page here. Maybe we should just give each other some space."
"If that's what you want," Brooke shrugged, struggling to not break down in front of him.
"No, this is what you want," he said coldly before he made an enraged exit.
…
"Hello?" Lucas called out glumly, stepping into Deb and Dan's foyer half-way and knocking on the door. He was hoping to find Haley; he really needed to pour his heart out to her.
She came down the stairs at that moment, but she didn't offer him a friendly smile when she saw him standing there. Her face was drawn and pale with worry. Her purse was hanging in the crook of her arm and her hand was pressed to her belly.
"Hales?" Lucas watched her, frightened by the look in her eyes. "What is it?"
"I think there's something wrong," she said tremulously.
"Are you bleeding?" Lucas ran to her, meeting her on the middle step of the staircase.
"No," she shook her head. "He's not moving. He's usually really active, but I can't feel him moving."
Lucas blinked at her. This was the first he'd heard of the new baby's gender. Knowing that he was a boy made him even more of a person to his uncle.
"Nathan got called into work, Dan's at the dealership, and Deb took James to the grocery store. Luke, I'm scared. I have to get to the doctor," Haley went on, almost rambling.
"All right," Lucas nodded, breathing hard as adrenaline raced through his veins. "We'll get you to the doctor, okay? Don't worry, Hales. Don't worry." He wrapped an arm around Haley's small shoulders, leading her down the rest of the stairs and out the door.
After Lucas helped Haley get settled in the passenger seat of his car, she dug around in her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed her doctor's office with shaking fingers and let the receptionist know that she was coming in for an emergency visit.
Lucas tore out of the driveway, driving like a maniac.
…
Half an hour later, Haley was lying back on an examination table at her OB's office. Lucas was at her side, holding her hand. Both of them watched anxiously as the doctor pressed the ultrasound probe to different spots on Haley's abdomen. The doctor had the monitor turned away from them and she was watching the screen intently. Suddenly, her face blanched and she swallowed hard.
"What?" Haley demanded unsteadily. "Is he okay? What is it?"
A new chapter! It's a miracle! Haha… I cannot tell you how sorry I am for taking so long. Things came up, I got really busy… You guys know how that goes, right? In any case, I hope you had a good time reading this chapter.
Now, before I get hate mail hurled my way, let me assure you that things will work themselves out. I know this chapter seemed pretty bleak toward the end, but I'm hoping that you, my fellow fan fic readers, will have faith. Don't flame me, just keep reading. Please? See? I asked nicely. Hehe…
Okay, but seriously, I think you guys are the coolest. You're always so amazing about reviewing for this story, even if I've taken a billion years getting the chapter up. You're like… so into it and I love that: ) Thank you for showing this story so much love. And, of course, be sure to give this chapter some love, too. Well, it's not like a requirement to review, but if you felt like sending me one, that would be so great. You know how much I love hearing your opinions and suggestions. I got some really good suggestions from some of you last time and I did my best to try and fit them in. So, yeah. There you go. G'bye 'til next time: ) ---Sarah