Chapter Seven – The Benevolent King

"Five hundred dollars."

"What?" Haley snapped, her attention effectively captured. "That's crazy."

"Seven-fifty then," Dan bargained, and she gaped in open wonder at the slight hints of desperation around him.

All day long during her shift at the dealership, he'd had her helping with campaign matters, but they had been too busy with customers for the most part to get much done. And now he had a bunch of things he still needed finished, and had gotten into his head that she should be the one to help him out. The exorbitant price tag he was willing to pay her was both amusing and odd.

This kind of extra money was something she could really need in the next year. Putting it into the bank for college would be huge, and for that reason alone, she knew she'd say yes. In this case, what other answer is there? She's an emancipated seventeen year old who was estranged from her husband. Her parents didn't have the kind of cash needed to send her to college. Even with loans and such, she'd still need spending money. This wasn't something she could turn down.

"One thousand!" he blurted out, unexpectedly. "That's it, I'm not offering more than that!"

Gaping, she nodded in agreement immediately. "O-okay."

"Thank God," he muttered under his breath, his relief obvious and palpable.

"It's just finishing up the photocopies and doing some proofing, right?" she asked wearily. "A few hours of work?"

"Right, yeah," he agreed immediately. "And you're some kind of wiz in your classes, right? You had Nathan getting good grades." He said the last part more to himself than her, so she didn't say anything. "Maybe I'll have you edit my speech for next week, too. Yeah, I need someone to take a look at it."

"Okay," she agrees hesitantly, then groaned. "I have to make a quick phone call."

"Which of my sons' hearts are you breaking tonight?" he asked with a sly smile. "That's what that's about, right?"

"How – " she cut herself off, angrily throwing her hands in the air. "Is that what this is about? You're paying me a grand to stay here, for one night, to keep me away from Nathan? That's – that's ridiculous!"

"Yes, it would be, if that's what I was doing," he agreed self-righteously, "But since I'm not, we'll leave the adjectives describing me to 'desperate' for the night, won't we?"

"Fine," she snapped half-heartedly, fishing her phone out of her purse. "I'll be right back."

Flipping through her contacts in irritation, mostly directed at herself for rising to Dan's ever present bait, she found Nathan's number. She knew he won't take this all that well; she'd been finding it harder and harder to find time to spend with him outside of school and bus rides to the games. If she wasn't working, she was too tired to go out. If she wasn't too tired, she had school work to do. Vicious cycle, it was, and it showed no signs of lessening.

"Hey Hales, you on your way?" he answered after two rings.

"Hey Nathan," she greeted him, trying to keep the tremor of nervousness out of her voice. Everything with Nathan was so fragile right now, and while she was pretty sure he'd understand that a grand was a whole lot of money, she was equally sure he still wouldn't like being stood up. And she didn't really blame him for that.

"Are you on your way?" he asked again.

"Oh, Nathan, I'm so sorry, but I can't," she sighed, nervously running a hand through her hair. "M-my boss lost his mind and offered me a thousand dollars to stay here for a few hours longer and finish up a few projects for him."

"What'? Are you kidding me?" he burst out, angrier than she'd expected. "Jesus, Haley, we have plans! And you're going to break them for a little money?"

"It's more than a little," she pointed out, inwardly groaning to herself. "Look, Nathan, I'm sorry. I really am; you have to know that being with you anywhere doing anything would be better than working, but this is so much money. And there's college and rent and maybe a senior trip and other stuff to think about. I want to do all those things with you, and if that means missing a night with you now, then I guess that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!"

"Great," he spit out. "You're willing to whore yourself out for a grand now in hopes that maybe someday you'll get to spend some time with me? That's – that's just great, Haley. Really great. And a thousand dollars? What exactly are you doing?"

The tone of his voice left no question as to what he was implying, and she had to struggle with herself to keep from hanging up on him immediately. "I can't believe you'd even say that, Nathan," she whispered in a pained voice. "How could you?"

"How could I?" he snorted. "Oh, come on, Haley. You left to go on a tour with the skeeziest guy around! Who knows what you were doing then, and who knows what you're now!"

She fell silent, feeling like she took a sucker-punch to the gut. "I – what – you don't really – " she choked out, devastated by his cruel words.

"No, you really don't anything, at all, do you? You don't think, you don't care about anyone other than yourself, you don't follow through on promises or vows," he persisted relentlessly. "It's hard to even know why I'm surprised by any of this!"

"That isn't fair," she maintained quietly. "I know I've made mistakes, but this – this isn't one of them, and you know it."

"I don't know it," he said after a lengthy pause. "I really don't. Just when I was starting to think that this – us – was important to you again, you start standing me up."

"Have you thought about what happens next fall?" she cried out. "Have you thought that you're going to have a basketball scholarship, but I don't have anything like that to rely on? And I don't have parents who can just pay for all of it at once! If I'm going to have a chance of going where you go, then I can't turn things like this down!"

"Well, there's always another option," he said, malicious intent in his voice.

"What's that?" she asked quietly, fearfully.

"Go somewhere that I'm not." The soft click let her know that he had hung up on her, and she staggered a little on her feet as she replayed the conversation in her head.

There was no doubt that this wasn't going to be something he'd shrug and accept, she knew that immediately; however, it also wasn't something she had figured he'd respond to like this. It has been a long time since he'd been that vocal and nasty about his anger with her, and it hurt and scared her that it was back like this.

Trying to pull herself together, trying her damnedest not to cry, she straightened her shoulders and locked the phone before shoving it back into her purse. She tried to tell herself that he was just disappointed, and that this would blow over, but it was a bit of a tough sell when she added it to the pile of wrongs she had done him. Taking a deep breath, she headed back through the doors, attempting to smile back at the few straggling salesmen who hadn't yet left.

Dan looks up as she entered his office, and for a second, he felt bad as he took in the stricken look on her face. He clamped down on that, shaking his head as she sat down at the table adjacent to his desk and started working.

"Nathan was a bit of a jerk, huh?" he started conversationally. "Must come from Deb's side, I suppose."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," she muttered sarcastically in return, not bothering to look up from what she was doing.

"Look, I'm sure it'll all blow over by tomorrow, and things will be just fine. So, now can we focus on the task that you're swindling a grand out of me?"

"Swindle my ass," she retorted. "You begged me to take the money and stay, and furthermore, you knew there was no way I could turn it down. Now really isn't the time for you to turn on the benevolent king routine."

He raised an eyebrow at her before nodding. "He really did a number on you this time, huh? What did he say?" She rolled her eyes at him, refusing to answer. "It must've been pretty bad. I've never seen anyone as patient with him as you are. Nathan has a sharp tongue, though, so it must try even your patience with him sometimes."

"Why are you saying this?" she asked in confusion, knowing that while Dan was quite capable of criticizing both sons, she'd never heard him do it without at least one of them in the room to hear it.

"I'm not blind to Nathan's faults," he answered mildly.

"When it comes to other people experiencing them, you usually are," she countered immediately, "Besides, I've never even heard you come close to criticizing him. What gives?"

He looked at her appraisingly, as if trying to decide something before shrugging and continuing. "I'm trying. I have no misconceptions about how hard this will be, winning any kind of affection from my sons, but I'm trying. And maybe part of that is admitting and, more importantly, accepting their faults along with my own."

"Your own?" she smirked, fighting back a laugh. "You'd admit to having some?"

"I just told you I am, and why," he gritted out, fighting back the snappish remarks and nasty comments that leap to his tongue. "Look, I can understand why you don't see where I'm coming from on this, but for someone who is trying to get back in Nathan's good graces, I would think you might have a tiny shimmer of understanding for what I'm going through right now."

He was practically bleeding sincerity, much to her disgust, and she found it so annoying that she did have that ability to sympathize with him and understand what it was like. She didn't like it, and she certainly didn't trust in it much, but there was the very real sense of sincerity there, making it hard for her not to take what he was saying sincerely.

"I can't trust that what you're saying is true," she finally muttered, "Because you've screwed over and screwed up too many people I love and care about too many times. And you're a little weasel, and I'm having a hard time believing you've had your movie moment and that your heart has grown three sizes."

He rolled his eyes, snorting back a laugh. "You know, sometimes, I think you might just have a little bit of potential, Miss James," again rolling with the deliberate use of her maiden name, although she wasn't so sure now it was to be cruel as much as it was part of their 'thing'. Oh, God, they had a 'thing'. A routine. That was so scary. That was so sick.

"Well, at least I can do math and know what a thousand dollars can do for me," she sighed. "That's like two semesters of books, if I'm lucky."

He regarded her seriously, not even noticing when she squirmed slightly under his regard. "You're serious, aren't you? About going to college, I mean."

She frowned up at him, glancing up from the papers in her hand. "Well, it's always been my plan. Since I was three and knew what college was, I wanted to go. Stanford, actually. That's pretty much out, but that doesn't mean I can't go somewhere else."

"Why is Stanford out?"

"Well, look, I love Nathan with all my heart, but his grades aren't Stanford material. Even with his basketball, it's still not enough for Stanford. That's okay, too, as long as we're together."

Dan nodded slowly, thinking over her words. "You'd give up your dream for him?"

"I already made the mistake of following a dream once," she sighed, the world blurring at the edges as tears cloud her vision. "I won't make it again."

He could feel his lips purse, as though he'd tasted something sour. Admitting it to himself is inordinately hard, painfully hard even, but he wa jealous. He was jealous that a teenage girl had figured out at her age what he was still just barely figuring out at his age, approaching forty. It was not fair, and it didn't seem right, but it was. She knew more than he did. She got what he didn't.

"How can you be sure?" he asked softly, wincing inwardly as he waited for her to pounce on this revelation of insecurity. If their relationship was based on anything, it was mutual snark and dislike. For him to get serious was serious out of bounds play, and he wasn't sure it would be tolerated.

She smiled wryly, looking up from the paper, suddenly uncaring that her eyes were filled with tears. "I can't, I guess. But I have to try." She bit her lower lip, debating her next words. "You know Nathan, he'll exploit anything he sees as a weakness, so if I don't – well, you get the picture."

He nodded thoughtfully, taking in her words. "For years, I used that trait in him to my advantage. Well, you know that, of course. It's different now, though. I hate seeing that in him, I hate knowing that I helped cultivate it in him."

She didn't know what to say, so she settled for nodding, and an uneasy silence filled the space between them. Fidgeting with the papers in her hand, she couldn't keep silent anymore. "You're really sorry sometimes, aren't you?" she blurted out, wanting to clap her hand over her mouth once it was out so she couldn't talk anymore.

He looked at her warily, as if she was going to pounce on whatever he said next. "About more things than you could ever imagine," he said honestly, the words ragged and harsh, as if torn from him.

She felt that tiny bit of kinship all the way down to her toes, and it scared her. It scared her to think that she had something in common with Dan Scott, the evil puppetmaster who seemed to live to make her life Hell. But here she was, and despite all the things she knew to be true, she's one hundred and ten percent positive that he was telling her the truth right now. That he was sorry. If there was one thing she could understand, it was that sometimes, sorry really could be enough. When there's nothing else left, it usually was.

That was just her experience, though.

"This is getting ridiculous, Hales."

"Hey, thanks for the update," she muttered sarcastically, swiping at the counter with her dishrag.

He shook his head, fighting a smile. "Your new slave driver boss gives you a day off, and what do you do? Work at your old job. You're such a freak, Hales."

She laughed with him, rolling her eyes. "Well, I happen to like working here," she shrugged carelessly, omitting that there are actually aspects of her other job she's coming to appreciate, too. "It doesn't feel like work, anyway, just hanging out."

"I'm just glad you're here," Luke noted, smiling happily. "I've missed hanging out with you over the last year. It's just not the same." She opened her mouth to interject something, but he pushed on. "I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it isn't what it used to be. That's okay, but it's okay to miss the old stuff, too."

"I miss you, too," she answered softly. "I know things haven't been the same, but we're still Luke and Hales."

"How's things with Nathan?" Luke asked after she poured coffee for a few of the customers at the bar, "Still on the road to reconciliation?"

She averted her eyes so he didn't see the way his question hits home. After a second to compose herself by sucking in a quick breath of air, she looked up, managing a shaky smile. "I think I blew it again," she admitted quietly. "I stood him up for work last night."

Luke's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What? Why would you do that?"

Taking a deep and hopefully calming breath, she smiled ruefully. "My boss offered me a grand to stay and do some editing and revising for him. It's not like I can turn that down," she sighed. "I have college to think of, not to mention just general living."

"And he's mad at you? Well, I mean, you should've called and let him know, but come on, a thousand dollars. That's – that is so much money I can hardly even wrap my mind around it," Luke chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I did call him, Luke," she shrugged. "Beforehand. Let him know what the deal was. He's apparently unconvinced as to what exactly I'm doing for this job."

"What does that mean?" Luke asked, his brow furrowing in confusion briefly before smoothing back out as his eyes widen. "No, he did not say that."

She brushed her bangs out her eyes. "Actually, he did." It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him the rest, that her subsequent conversation with Dan was actually human and went a long way towards making her feel better. "I'm trying to tell myself he didn't mean it, but he said some things that make me think he really did."

"Oh, Hales, I'm sorry," Luke sighed. "He really wouldn't mean something like that."

She smiled sadly, shaking her head. "I want to believe that, but it just came so fast, that idea to his head, and he said without compunction. Like it was nothing. Like I was nothing."

"Hey, come on, you know how Nathan is. When his feelings get hurt, or worse, his pride, he lashes out. And he knows what hurts the most, and he's not afraid to use it."

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. If he thinks some nasty words are going to drive me off, then he has got another thing coming, you know?"

Luke laughed at her resolve. "He'll never know what hit him."

"I hope not," Haley sniffed, smirking a little. "I just hope this isn't all in vain, because it is so hard. And I'm not saying I don't deserve that, but it hurts. How long can I stand this kind of hurting?"

"How long did he stand it?" Luke asked gently, not trying to hurt her more, but knowing that she needed to hear that, especially from him. Especially from the one person who would always forgive her anything.

She nodded as tears once again spring to her eyes, hastily trying to hide her face behind a curtain of hair. "I know, Luke. That's why I'm going to take whatever he has to give, okay? Knowing I deserve it doesn't make it easier, though."

"Hey, no one ever said it would," he smiled, patting her on the back. "Look, I know you love Nathan, and even if he won't say it, I know he loves you back. Just give him some time, and he'll work things out."

"I hope so," she whispered, letting out a tremulous breath as he pulled her into his arms.

"It will," he reassured her. "He'll get over this 'being an asshole' thing, and beg you to forgive him. Mark my words, Hales."

She laughed wryly at that, sighing deeply. "Well, I guess I can only hope you're right," she noted. "It's not like I have a whole lot of other options right now, huh?"

"Hey, you can always keep pestering him until he gives in, right?" She nodded, smiling gratefully at him as she turned to grab something from the kitchen. When she got back, he grinned. "So, what does a guy got to do to get a job where you're working? Because it sounds pretty cushy."

She was pretty sure it wouldn't do to say 'enter into a nefarious deal with your possibly evil, possibly misunderstood father-in-law', so she just shook her head, forcing out a small laugh. "Be competent at something other than reading melodramatic novels and basketball?"

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, laughing with her. The smile faded and the laughter died on his lips not ten seconds later, though, as the door to the diner opens and his father – in name only – stepped through the door. "What is he doing here?" he hissed at Haley.

She blinked in surprise, taking a minute to see who he was talking about. "I don't know, maybe he likes the pie," she suggested blithely, not wanting this to escalate into something weird on either ends. "Be cool, Luke. Your mom will kill you if you start anything, and you know it."

He turned his glare on her, shaking his head. "I don't care about that," he muttered. "She might be willing to play along with whatever game this is, but I'm not."

"Hmm, well, I don't know about you, but I hope the game is Hungry, Hungry Hippo," she teased him, sighing when he didn't laugh. "Come on, that was funny!"

"No, funny is him thinking he can come in here and just sit down like he's a normal customer," Luke muttered tersely. "Ha ha ha."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay, look, Sparky. You stay here, and I'll go talk to him, see what he wants. He's not causing any problems, so don't go looking for one, got it?"

"No, you don't need to be exposed to that!" Luke protested, starting to slide off his stool.

She clamped a hand down on his shoulder, shoving him back onto his seat. "No, you stay here. I mean it, Luke, let me deal with this."

She didn't wait for him to say anything else, just gave him a harsh look until he threw his hands up in surrender. Sighing, she grabbed a menu and mde her way over to Dan's table. "So, I'm not going to have to call the police, am I?"

"I don't know," he said, looking up at her. "Luke isn't planning on maiming me, is he?"

"Oh, no," she smirked. "I'm pretty sure he thinks death is an option in this case. Anyway, what are you doing here, Dan? You know it's only going to upset him."

"I'm making the effort with Nathan, and now I'm trying to make it with Luke, too. We talked about this yesterday," he reminded her unnecessarily. "I thought you at least sort of understood where I'm coming from."

Sighing, she sat down. "It's not about me getting it," she pointed out. "It's about what Nathan and Luke can tolerate. And unfortunately, I don't think Luke can tolerate this. He's really protective of Karen and this café that maybe this isn't the best place to approach him."

"I just want to try," Dan stated plainly. "If he reacts poorly, which you're right, he probably will, then I'll leave. But at least I'll leave knowing that I tried."

She bit her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. "If I talk to him, and tell him that you want to talk to him and he refuses, will you leave?"

"Yes," he agreed immediately, almost a little too quickly for her liking. "I don't expect everything from him right away. I'm not that much of a fool."

"Well, okay then," she said doubtfully, hurrying away from his table like his outcast status amongst his family could be catching.

He wasn't sure what he expected from this, really. He knew that Luke would refuse to see him, or worse, come after him to physically throw him out. He didn't want it to come to that, of course, but he didn't want to be ignored, either.

When Haley approached Luke, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Luke was definitely pissed. He was a little pleased that Luke took some of it out on Haley – after all, she'd been a thorn in his side for awhile now, but he hated to know it was just because the boy was so upset over his presence. At least Karen wasn't there to make him feel worse about everything; besides the boys, she was really the only with that ability anymore.

Actually, that wasn't true. Haley seemed to be able to cut him the same way Karen always could, even if it was a little different in this case. She understood too much, even the parts that no one else did. It was uncanny that the person most influential in his sons' young lives was so similar to the person most influential in his younger life.

It surprised him more than he would've been willing to admit when Luke started walking towards him. It's grudging, no doubt about that; the look on his son's face guaranteed that. But it was something. It was a start. Maybe that was all he could ask for now, forever. Maybe it was all he'd ever have. And maybe that would have to be okay.

"Why are you here?" Luke asked when he reached the table, more wary than anything else after the anger dissipated. "Why are you suddenly everywhere?"

"I'm trying," was what Dan offered. "I'm trying to be a father to you and a better father to Nathan."

"That's just lip service," Luke muttered, unable to believe this of his father, unable to believe that the man who had figuratively and literally turned his back on him so many times could truly mean what he was saying.

"I'm here," Dan pointed out, "And I'm going to keep being here. Maybe you'll never acknowledge me, and maybe I'll never get more than this, but I'm going to try. And then I'll try harder."

Luke couldn't say that he was unaffected by the solemn vow, but that still didn't mean that he could trust it, either. But they were the words he'd always wanted to hear, and somehow, he found that was still true. He still wanted to hear them, craved it even. And that seemed so preposterous to him, that after all this time, he'd still harbored those boyish illusions about some kind of perfect reunion with his father, of being accepted.

"I don't know what to tell you," Luke admitted, still eyeing Dan like he was afraid he'd pounce. "You can't just act like there isn't – "

"I'm not," Dan interrupted quickly. "I'm not trying to pretend like the past isn't there. I am not trying to ignore all the wrongs I've done, Lucas. That's one thing I can promise you. It's there, and both of us are acutely aware of it. We'll deal with that, if you give me the chance."

In spite of himself, Luke couldn't help but ask, "The chance to what? You'll forgive me for thinking your motives might be a little shaky."

"I'd forgive you anything," Dan sighed quietly. "All I want is the chance to make things up to you, and be a father to you. I don't want anything from you, I don't expect anything more than that; I just want to be your father."

Choking up, Luke fixed his gaze out the window. "I don't know what to say to you."

"Don't say anything," Dan told him. "Just don't say 'no'."

Luke wrenched his gaze back to Dan. "I don't know if I can do this," he admitted, feeling weaker for it. "I don't know if I can let you in like you want, like you're asking."

Taking a deep breath, Dan nodded. "I – I can understand that."

Luke raised an eyebrow skeptically, his heart plummeting in disappointment. "So that's it? You'd give up?"

"Did I say anything about giving up?" Dan snapped mildly. "I can accept that this isn't easy for you, that you won't make it easy on me, and that I need to earn your trust. But I'm not giving up. I can live with that; can you?"

"Do I have a choice?" Luke asked, trying to tamp down on his hopes. Dan was saying all the right things and acting the right way, but Luke was aware of what a manipulator he was, and how damn good he could be at it.

"There are always choices, right?" Dan shrugged. "Sometimes we make the right ones, and sometimes we screw things up beyond royally."

"Speaking from experience, I suppose," Luke remarked drolly, inwardly smiling to see that Haley was keeping a keen eye on them, focused with unabashed interest.

"That's something we all have in common, I think," Dan noted. "I know you've made mistakes, bad choices. And I've made more than my share, and unfortunately, I'll probably continue to make more."

Haley watched as they continued to talk, her foot tapping impatiently beneath the counter. She couldn't even fathom what they're talking about, but since Luke hadn't jumped across the table to choke Dan, she figured that he was at least listening to what Dan had to say. Which was surprising, and not altogether sane.

Finally, Dan got up to leave, and Haley waited as Luke watched him go. Giving up the pretense of patience, she flung the towel she was wringing down onto the counter, and made her way across the café to where her friend stood.

"So? What did he say?" she blurted out, knowing full well how nosy she sounded, but not really caring about it at the moment.

He laughed aloud at her eagerness, reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. "Down, girl. He just – I don't know, he wants to 'be a father' to me."

Haley nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Okay, what else? You two talked for an awful long time."

"There isn't really much else," Luke shrugged. "He said he knew he's made mistakes, a lot of them, and that he wants to make things up to me. He said everything I've always sort of wanted to hear from him."

"Even when you insisted you didn't?" she asked quietly, settling down now that she had the scoop.

Luke nodded slowly, looking towards the door that Dan left through. "Even when I knew I shouldn't, when I was positive I was better off without him."

"Oh, Luke," she sighed, the sympathy she'd felt for Dan drying up at the lost look on her best friend's face. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed you to talk to him."

"It's okay, Hales," he smiled, pulling her to him. "Maybe this needs to be worked out, one way or another. Either get some closure or – well, whatever."

"You think he's sincere?" she asked as she walked back around the counter. "I mean, do you think he really wants to have a relationship with you that isn't him being a jerk and you being pissy?"

"Hey, I don't get pissy," he protested with a smirk. "You must be thinking of Dan's other son."

She rolled her eyes. "Neither of you are averse to getting pissy, so don't even try and play that with me."

He grinned, "Okay, fine. Pissiness abounds, what can I say?"

"So, what was the outcome? I mean, not to be nosy or anything, but you are my brother-in-law, and best friend, and inquiring minds need to know!"

"I doubt there's any great need," Luke countered, "But there wasn't really an outcome. He just said his piece, and then left. That's pretty much it."

"That's it?" she asked doubtfully. "Come on, there has to be more to it than that! Was it about your medicine?"

Slowly, Luke shook his head. "No, he didn't mention that."

"No blackmail? Huh, how strange. If he keeps that up, he might lose his right to the 'Evil Mastermind' title and be struck by lightning from below if he tries the evil laugh again."

He groaned at that, shaking his head. "You're terrible, really, really terrible."

"Terrible? I think I'm offended," she giggled, throwing the towel at him. "Besides, I'm too cute too ever be terrible."

"Oh, you'd so like to think so, wouldn't you?" he laughed as the towel hit him in the face. "Well, one thing since you married Nathan – your aim has improved!"

She rolled her eyes, huffing out a puff of air. "Well, your comedic styling hasn't, that's also for sure."

"Damn," he muttered, pouting a little. "You suck. I can't believe you'd break out the low blows, Hales!"

She giggled. "You diss my mad skillz, I'll diss yours!"

"Well, isn't this sweet," Nathan's voice rang out from across the room. Haley's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, and for one second, she could forget the renewal of his anger over their broken date last night.

"Hey, man," Luke greeted tentatively, unsurprised when Nathan totally ignored him. He rolled his eyes at Haley when Nathan walked over to her.

Haley, for her part, was totally fixated on Nathan. "Hi," she said, smiling softly, yet tentatively, at him. "How are you?"

He didn't smile at her, but he didn't look nearly as angry as he sounded last night, so she was counting her blessing on that one. "Can we talk? Outside or something?"

She looked at Luke, and he motioned for her to go. She nodded eagerly at Nathan, untying the apron around her waist and handing it to Luke as she followed Nathan towards the door.

"I'm glad you came by," she started as they walk out the door. "I know you're upset with me, and I get that, but Nathan, please, please believe that there is never a time when I'm not wishing you were with me. I constantly want you with me, and I hate that we're apart so much of the time these days. I hate that I made it that way."

"Hales – "

"And I hate that you have so little faith in me that you could seriously wonder about things you did last night!" she exclaimed, not noticing the amused smirk on his lips. "I hate that I've given you so many reasons to hate me that you think that little of me! I hate this, I hate all of it!"

"Hal – "

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for everything, all the things that I've done, all that I haven't, and all that I might! I'm sorry!"

"Haley!" he exclaimed, loudly and forcefully enough that she stops this time. "Jeez, I was thinking I might have to kiss you to shut you up."

She blinked at him in surprise. "And I suppose that would've been horrible for you, huh?" she sniped, unable to keep all traces of bitterness away.

"I didn't say that," he sighed, running a hand over his head. "Look, I came here to apologize. I was way out of line last night, and I know it. I knew it even as I said it that I was being a jerk and that it was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

She gaped at him in surprised wonderment. "W – what?"

"Sorry. S-o-r-r-y." He grinned down at her. "I am sorry," he drawled out as slowly as humanly possible. "I was a jerk. I'm sorry."

The hope in her eyes was so huge and overwhelming that it made him feel like he a light breeze would knock him on his ass. The fact that tears fill her eyes and her lower lip trembled really got the guilt kicking in, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He leaned down and dragged her to him, kissing her hard on the lips.

She didn't react immediately; it was like a delayed reaction caused by shock overload to her brain, but when she did, it was wholeheartedly. She threw her arms around him, not willing to let him away from her too quickly this time. Somehow in the heat of the kiss, she still had the presence of mind to figure he'd come to his senses and withdraw quicker than she'd like.

Sighing, he pulls back, resting his forehead against hers. She didn't push him for more, just contented herself with being in his arms, with feeling loved again. Loved by him.

"That was something," he commented quietly.

She murmured her agreement. "Good or bad?"

"Well, definitely not bad," he chuckled, leaning back far enough to look at her, to smile at her. Something like a smile shouldn't be so significant, but to her right now, it was. It was everything she needed, everything she wanted.

"Not bad at all," she agreed, tugging him back down for another kiss. "I've missed this."

"Me, too," he smiled, brushing a lock of hair off her cheek. "I've missed this, and I've missed you. It's – I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I want to keep trying."

"Me, too," she immediately agreed, tightening her arms around his neck. "That's all I want, Nathan. Just to try, to try with you. To try for you."

Seeking to reassure her, he pressed another, gentler, kiss to her lips. "We already are. And I'll probably be dumb about it sometimes, but you know that about me. I can be a real dumbass sometimes."

"Hey!" she interrupted, taking mock offense to his words. "That's my husband you're talking about! I don't appreciate that kind of slander of his intellectual capabilities!"

He grinned at her pulling her close. "Can we just, I don't know, promise to be honest with each other about things? Like, I can be honest and admit it like a man when I'm a jealous jerk, and you can be honest and tell me when I'm being a jerk. We need to trust each other again, and we can't do – "

"That without honesty," she finished up for him, the heavy mantle of guilt practically smothering her. She tried to rationalize it in her head, to tell herself that Luke's illness wasn't her secret to spill, and that she couldn't tell the truth on the others without telling the truth on that. Lying to everyone had been the worst part of this, bar none, but that was her burden to bear and her risk to take. She knew what it was going in, she'd known it since and she knew it now.

"Okay, so anything you need to be honest about?" he asked, half-anxious, half-hopeful.

Sighing, she bit her lower lip. "I – there are things I want to tell you, and I would if they were my secrets. But these are someone else's, and I can't break that promise. It's not mine to tell you. Not yet, at least"

He looked a myriad of things: skeptical, irritated, downright angry, resigned. "Look, obviously I can't make you tell me anything, right? But just know that it's important to me, knowing your secrets and you knowing mine."

"It isn't my secret, Nathan," she reiterated, sighing. "I'd tell you, god, I have wanted to tell you for as long as I've known. But I promised I would not tell anyone."

"And you won't break that promise?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I can't."

He nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Okay. Well, I guess that's that, then." A moment of panic flitted through her, assuming that 'that's that' meant that she'd failed and he was going to walk away again. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her again. "I'm trusting you, Hales. Trusting that this isn't something that I need to know about, that affects me."

She managed to keep from grimacing or crying, but it was a near thing. "I can't tell you, Nathan. That's all I can say about it."

Groaning, he laughed ruefully. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay. Well, I have to get to the gym. We have a voluntary weight training session," he explained, sneering at 'voluntary'. "You might want to remind Luke of it."

"Oh! Oh, he can't," she informed him, knowing that Luke had been feeling tired and rundown earlier. "He's got to stay here and watch the café for Karen. I'd do it, but I'm off in a bit to help Brooke with her stuff."

Nathan rolled his eyes, but to his credit, didn't say anything disparaging about Luke this time. "Yeah, okay." He leaned down and kissed her again. "Hey, you want to go out sometime? You pick the night this time, and that way you won't have to cancel."

She grinned, nodding eagerly. "I'll call you, or see you at school tomorrow."

She watched as he walked off, and she couldn't help but feel like things were finally going okay, even as she waited for the other shoe to drop.