nine.
That was him. She was sure of it. Unkempt and greasy black hair, grayish eyes, wrinkled black t-shirt, ripped jeans. Her heartbeat accelerated as she watched the man that had tried to rob her walk back and forth past the house. Holding tightly onto Anna and making sure all the doors and windows were locked, Haley sat in a corner of the house and sang to the twins more to calm herself than them, lightly stoking Keith's arm and cradling Anna. She didn't want to wake up Peyton, but if he got any closer she would have to. Two women and two babies. It was the perfect setting for a horror story. Her head snapped around as she heard loud knocking at the door. Her mind went through protocol for this situation. She really had no clue, but she figured don't open or go anywhere near the door, hide the babies, prepare for him to break in, fight like hell. She began to slowly move towards Peyton when she heard Lucas's voice. "Peyton? Let me in!" She exhaled heavily and almost laughed. She had gotten herself all worked up and it was Lucas at the door. "Haley?" Lucas tilted his head in confusion when he saw her open the door. Then realization washed over his face. "I left her alone with the twins. She hasn't slept in like two days." His facial expression and tone of voice made it seem like he was about to slap his head and proclaim that he should've had a V8.
"Um, yeah, way to go genius. She called about 20 minutes after you left. Peyton and Keith are asleep but Anna's pretty restless, so have fun with that. Unless you need me to help out, I'm gonna get going. Oh, crap. Well, you are blessed with my presence for a while longer, lucky you, Nathan wants to pick me up. I'll text him now."
Lucas laughed at Haley's false narcissism. "Hales, you do know you live like five minutes away right?"
"Yeahhhhh, well I kinda almost got robbed today and now Nathan won't let me go anywhere alone."
"What?! Are you okay?"
Haley laughed at his worried expression. "I feel so bad for Anna, she's got to grow up with two overprotective Scott men in her life. Poor thing."
"Three," Nathan said as he opened the door and entered Luke's house. "I'm sure Jamie here will include himself in that group."
"Momma!" Jamie jumped into Haley's arms and hopped down to high-five Uncle Lucas.
"Look, baby, all in one piece!" Haley said with sarcastic enthusiasm to Nathan and went to kiss him briefly.
"Yeah, yeah. Ready to go?" Haley looked at Lucas silently asking his permission.
"I'll manage, you guys go ahead."
Haley waved at the babies and their father then pointed at Peyton. "Let her sleep!" Jamie sped to the car, followed by Nathan and Haley, and then it was just Lucas left to the silence. He smiled with pride at his sleeping wife, who had recently been amazing him. She was a phenomenal mother, so caring, and nearly omnipotent. She would get up and rush to the crib before he even saw or heard one of their children stir. She and Haley had become the dream team—he feared for anyone in their way. Lucas knew a good mother when he saw one, he grew up with the best, and his wife and best friend were so incredible it was unbelievable, staggering sometimes.
"Race you to the rivercourt!" Jamie yelled, running ahead of his parents and giving them an excited look. "Come on, Daddy, I bet I'll beat you!"
"Hey! Why can't I play?" Haley said, faking a pout.
"Okay. Me and Momma against Daddy!" Jamie called and picked up a basketball. He passed it towards his mother but she was too busy howling with laughter upon being thrown over Nathan's shoulder. "He's cheating, Jamie, no fair, get him!"
Jamie ran to his father and started tickling him until Nathan dropped Jamie's teammate and raced to the hoop. "You're too fast," Nathan complained, running in slow motion behind Jamie. Haley's hands flew in the air and she went to high-five Jamie when he made a basket. "And the Momma's Boy takes the lead!" she exclaimed.
"Momma's Boy? Is that really the best name you could come up with?" Nathan teased and blocked her shot.
"Hey! I birthed him, I can give him whatever name I want!" She winked at Jamie, whose eyebrows furrowed, clearly freaked out by the birth reference. "And how come you let Jamie win but not me?"
His arms wrapped around her and he bent down to nuzzle her ear. "You get a different kind of benefit."
She giggle. "Oh, I like the way you think." His lips pressed gently against hers and waited for her wordless reply. Her arms lifted to lock around his neck and he gripped her tightly, his lips beginning to move more seriously against hers.
"Ewwwwwww!" Jamie whined, "Gross!"
Haley and Nathan's lips could no longer properly function as smiles tugged at the corners of their mouths. Haley turned to look sheepishly at her son and Nathan shrugged an apology, both refraining from laughter. "Alright, let's get this game back on!" Nathan said and snatched the ball that had fallen forgotten on the ground. He handed it to Haley, who shot the ball before Nathan knew what was happening. "You rock, Momma!" Jamie exclaimed when the ball swished through the basket. Nathan lightly bumped Haley's side. "Yeah, and she learned it all from me."
"Was that your jump shot? Cause if that was your jump shot, I can't date you anymore," he said, smiling, as he caught the ball and walked towards Haley. "My mom said you'd be here, something about a grade?"
"Yeah, you cannot be here right now."
"Why not?"
"Because I look stupid!"
"You realize I've seen you in that crochet poncho thing you wear right?" he said with a smirk and handed her the ball.
Rolling her eyes and taking the ball, she responded, "Come on, this is embarrassing, I want you to think I'm…not embarrassing."
"You don't embarrass me, Haley," he said seriously.
"Oh? Yeah? Okay," she cleared her throat, looked at him with raised eyebrows, and threw the ball in an attempt to shoot—it didn't even make it to the basket, instead it landed in Nathan's hands.
He smiled. "Okay, I take that back."
"I can't do it," she smiled.
"Yes, you can." He stepped next to her. "Alright, square your shoulders to the basket, and you got to bring the ball up right past your nose like this—" she mimicked his actions –"bend your knees a little." He handed her the ball and stood behind her.
"Relax your hips." He placed his hands on her hips and slightly pushed them down. She smiled. "Just shoot," he said in her ear. She did, and to her disappointment it bounced off the rim. This was impossible.
"Okay, that wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't embarrassing. It was actually kinda sexy."
She smiled at the memory and bumped Nathan back. "Whatever, Momma's got game now!"
"She sure does," Nathan agreed. "Alright, Jim-Jam, it's getting dark, let's head home. Pizza and movie night?" Jamie nodded animatedly, but the mother in Haley cringed. "No way, we have pizza too much. I'll cook tonight. With vegetables!" Haley said the last sentence in a spooky voice and tickled Jamie's stomach, resulting in an eruption of giggles and an overly dramatic "Oh no!"
"Not vegetables," Nathan groaned with a devilish smile at his wife. "Fine, but that means we're watching a superhero movie!"
"Okay, okay," Haley sighed and they all got in the car to go home. Haley did a double take driving past the street before theirs when she saw out of the corner of her eye a man walking alone—unkempt and greasy black hair, grayish eyes, wrinkled black t-shirt, ripped jeans. She shook it off and told herself she was imagining things, but on the way into the house Haley gripped Jamie's shoulders and hovered close to Nathan.
"Mmm, thanks for dinner Momma!" Jamie said with an innocent smile, shooting sideways glances to the TV and slowly retreating.
"Hold it!" He stopped dead in his tracks. Almost made it. "Finish those vegetables, mister." Nathan hid a chuckle and added, "And finish that milk!"
"My friends say you guys are cool, psh," Jamie snorted.
"Watch it, we're still cool enough to let you have a movie tonight, you don't want to mess that up," Nathan said, raising his eyebrows.
"Fiiiiiiine," Jamie dragged out. When he finished and sped away to set up the movie, Nathan looked at Haley with his jaw slightly dropped. "Hales. We are those typical parents. Those 'Eat your vegetables' parents. When did this happen?" he asked with a laugh.
"Weird, huh?"
"Kinda fun," he smirked and she nodded, her eyes sparkling.
"Wait wait wait!" Haley called, running down the stairs. She plopped down on the couch next to Nathan and placed Jamie on her lap. "Okay, go ahead. What're we watching?"
"Hulk. The cartoon one," Jamie responded with a grin stretching to his ears.
"Not again," Nathan and Haley complained simultaneously. The response was an evil chortle from their son. Haley claimed to be immune to comic book violence, but for the majority of the movie she slouched behind Jamie's shoulder and inched progressively closer to Nathan. Nearly half of the way through, Haley nudged Nathan and nodded towards the already sleeping child in her arms. He picked him up gently and carried him upstairs to lay him in his bed.
When Haley bent down to kiss him goodnight, a tiny hand took hold of wrist and wouldn't let go. She smiled at the now open droopy eyes of her young son. "Story?" he asked hopefully. Both Nathan and Haley climbed into Jamie's bed and lay next to him. Nathan rested his head against Jamie's headboard and watched Haley read to their son. The smile never left his face as he watched her face and voice change with the story. Once Jamie had fallen asleep once again, Haley lightly kissed the top of his head, quietly shut the book, and somehow found a way to put it away on the bookshelf behind him without disturbing Jamie who was resting against her. Nathan kissed her forehead and their eyes locked above Jamie's head. The world outside the bedroom window, the rest of Nathan's universe, seemed to stand still and centered around Haley and Jamie—his life, the two people he loved more than anything.
They both whispered goodnight to Jamie and nearly floated into their room. As they fell onto their bed, Nathan peppered kisses down Haley's neck. He whispered her name, lifting his head to look into her eyes. "You're such a fantastic mother, I mean it, it's breathtaking to watch." An absolutely smitten look of adoration was etched on his face and he leaned in to kiss her.
She blushed and smiled faintly. "You're not so bad yourself. Our son adores you."
"We are pretty good at this parenting stuff. And not to mention our kid is adorable."
"I'll make no argument there! What's all this about though?"
"I was just thinking…Anna and Keith got me thinking, actually…but last time I survived something I shouldn't have—" she gave him a look that said 'take that back,' but he continued—"last time, it was to bring a life into the world. A pretty great life. The one you can hear snoring across the hallway. And maybe this time, it's for the same reason. I want more kids with you, Hales, I would love to have a ton of little Haleys running around." A laugh brushed across her surprised expression. "And I'm not even saying really try for another baby yet, maybe just ease off birth control, and let life handle the rest. What happens happens." He took a deep breath and tried to interpret her reaction.
Her eyes glistened and the corners of her mouth curved. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yeah, I am. I'd love to have another baby around, our baby. And I want it to be planned, and I want to be really excited when you tell me, not freak out and run off. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I always thought we have time, and the plane crash made me realize how much I want this. What are your thoughts?"
"My thoughts? Well, I really like the the not running off part," she smiled, "and currently running through my mind are the phrases 'I love you' and 'Let's get started.'"
That was all he needed to hear.
*****
"It feels so good to have a day out! We should do this more often," Peyton said, her arm linked with Haley's. "Yesterday Anna and Keith were totally feeding off each other. They're best friends already, I swear, they communicate somehow. I thought plotting to drive Mom crazy wasn't until their teens." She stopped. "I'm going to be the mother of twin teenagers someday!" she gasped, dropping her head on Haley's shoulder and mock-sobbing.
Haley's eyes widened in shock and she stared at Peyton. "I'm closer than you are!"
"Whyyyyyy do they have to grow? Why?"
"I don't know. Because the world wants to torture us…" Haley snapped out of her gloomy trance. "Anna and Keith are so cute though, especially as they, gulp, get bigger. They're going to be so adorable—literally mini Lucas and Peyton."
"I know, I love their bond already. It's like I want them to stay helpless infants forever, but then I'm so excited to watch them grow up. Hormones are such a pain, right? Anyway, they're trouble though. Like I said, they feed off each other. They take turns crying. One stops, the other starts. Like clockwork."
"Babies have a sixth sense for that stuff. They push all the right buttons. One time when Jamie was about one, he was eating and decided he didn't like his food. I had just gotten out of the shower, hair done, new clothes, cleaned the kitchen—I was on fire. Then suddenly, it was everywhere. All over the room, I was covered in it. Guess what flavor baby food it was? Green beans. I was almost in tears," Haley laughed.
"You know, before having the twins, I would be on the floor laughing right now, but the only reaction I had was to remind myself never to feed them green bean baby food."
"Definitely. Under no circumstances should you get anywhere near that stuff."
Peyton laughed and nodded, cupping her hands over her eyes to peer into the window of Clothes Over Bros. "Where is she?"
"We told her two o'clock right?" Haley stepped up to the window too.
"SHUT UP!" that unmistakable voice roared from within. "Oh, you have got some nerve, mother, coming here to just bitch at me. I gave you the company, okay? That was supposed to get rid of you!" Brooke shoved Victoria out the door with a final "GET OUT!" and turned to see Peyton and Haley, gesturing with frustration towards her mother, who became the object of both Peyton and Haley's venomous death glares as she walked away from the store.
"I don't know how she sees with her nose so high in the air like that," Peyton grumbled.
"What was that about?"
Brooke sighed exasperatedly. "I'll tell you later, today is fun girls day. Now hand over the pictures and you have two minutes to brag about the kids."
Peyton and Haley laughed and reached into their purses and Brooke joined the chain by linking onto Haley's arm. The three best friends walked into town, sure their chatter and laughter could be heard from miles away.
Nathan walked into the house to the sound of sobbing. His heart stuttered. Haley? When he reached the living room, he relaxed. No, just Peyton and Brooke watching P.S. I Love You. Again. "Where's Hales?'
"In-in the k-k-kitchen making f-food," Brooke replied through her tears and Peyton nodded, the two huddling together to continue the movie.
"Hi baby."
"Nathan! You said you weren't gonna be home for a while, it's girls day."
"Hales, it's been like five hours."
"Oh…oops. Well just go hide somewhere until the movie's over," she winked.
"Oh come on, it's my house. And Nathan Scott is not whipped," he said proudly.
She raised her eyes. "You'll be rewarded."
"Okay." He sped out of the kitchen.
"Okay, guys, the soup was really bad, I guess it was spoiled or something. So I made popcorn instead, try not to get it too soggy, you crybabies."
But by the end of the movie, Haley was crying harder than Brooke and Peyton combined. Wrong movie choice for the woman who was in a similar situation not too long ago.
Brooke's eyes got huge when reality dawned on her. "Ohmygosh Haley, I'm so sorry, I didn't even think."
Sniffling, Haley smiled sadly. "It's okay, really, just…if you guys don't mind I'm gonna go spend some time with Nathan." They readily complied. "Luke's probably going crazy anyway. And I'm sure you want to spend some time with the kids, Brooke." A motherly expression that said 'say yes or else' was displayed on Peyton's face.
"You bet I do. Bye Hales, we'll call you tomorrow. Go be Tutor Wife!"
Nathan crept downstairs. "Are they gone?"
"Oh stop, they're not that bad."
"Nah, but their presence prevents me from doing this…" He pulled her close to him and captured her lips between his. Their mouths never parted as they moved against the wall, her leg wrapping around his waist. A breathy moan escaped her lips when his tongue slid into her mouth and romance and passion formed between them, their bodies nearly on fire. He tore his lips from hers and her head rolled back when he kissed her neck, making a mark he knew she would kill him for tomorrow. Filled with need for him, she grabbed his head to bring his mouth back to hers and he whispered against her lips. She pulled back with a jolt.
"Oh, um, we don't have to," Nathan said with confusion when he saw her horrified look.
"No, no, it's not that…I have to—" She sprinted to the bathroom. Nathan grimaced when he heard her throw up, but he was a trooper and held her hair the whole time. "Damn soup," she muttered.
*****
"I'm going to stay home today, I still feel kinda weird...plus, I'm, uh, waiting on a call," Haley told Nathan nervously a few days later, but he didn't notice the hesitation in her voice. He bent down to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side so he landed on her cheek. "I'm gonna need some mouthwash first," she said with a sheepish smile.
He laughed. "Right. Well, call me if you need anything, and I'll be home soon. Love you."
"You too!" she called as he shut the door behind him. Haley turned to get a glass of water but something in the window of their neighbor's house made her stop. Unkempt and greasy black hair, grayish eyes, wrinkled black t-shirt, ripped jeans. She squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them he was gone. Her mind was playing tricks on her, there was no way the robber was in their next door neighbor's house. The phone ringing made her jump and interrupted her train of thought. She raced to answer it. "Hello? Yes. Really?! Oh, thank you so much!"
She hung up, a broad smile lingering on her face. How would she tell Nathan?
