Nathan awoke the next morning and reached over to cuddle with his wife only to find the other side of the bed empty. 'That's weird. She never gets up before me.' He thought. His first instinct was to check the bathroom considering how much she's been throwing up. He opened the door only to find it empty. He quickly searched the house before realizing she wasn't home. He ran back up to the bedroom, grabbed his cell phone, and dialed her number.
Haley felt her phone vibrating against the table and quickly hit ignore. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. Last night, she was upset. Today, she was pissed off. 'How could he miss our appointment? He was more excited than I was to find out the sex of the baby. And to top it off, he missed it because of her. His freaken gorgeous, model of an ex-girlfriend. He just forgot. He forgot completely. How could he forget?' Her thoughts were put on hold when her phone began vibrating. Nathan-again. She hit ignore again. Sure enough, as soon as she rejected his call, it vibrated again. "Leave me the hell alone!" She yelled out frustrated.
"You okay, Hales?" She turned and noticed Lucas standing there. "Oh, hey, Luke. Sorry about that. It's just..."
"Pregnancy hormones?" He added in.
"Yeah, sure, we'll go with that." She said.
"What's wrong, buddy?" He asked sliding into the opposite side of the booth.
"Nothing. I'm just tired." She brushed off.
"Well, it is seven forty-two." He said looking at his watch. "Shouldn't you be in bed sleeping, especially with your condition."
"Condition? Luke, I'm pregnant not disabled." She laughed.
"I know, I'm sorry. That came out wrong." He said laughing along with her. "I miss this. We don't do this enough-talk just the two of us." He stated.
"I know. I miss this, too." She agreed reaching over the table and grabbing his hands. A comfortable silence fell over them until Haley broke it. "The baby's a girl."
"Really?" He asked as she nodded. "Hales, that's awesome. I always pictured you having a little girl first. How's Nathan feel about this?"
"Oh, umm...well, he wanted a girl." She said dodging the actual question. The two sat in the cafe talking for a couple more hours before Haley announced she had to get home. She pulled into the driveway and was relieved when she noticed Nathan's SUV missing. She still wasn't quite ready to deal with him. She went inside. She changed into a pair of pajama shorts and found one of Nathan's sweatshirts before pulling it over her head. She grabbed a blanket, a book, and cuddled on the couch in the family room.
Nathan returned home after work that night. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Haley's car. He headed into the house and went in search of her. He found her asleep on the couch. "Where the hell were you this morning?" He yelled causing her to stirr awake. "Where were you this morning?" He asked again.
"I was at the cafe." She answered.
"And was your phone broken? I tried calling you-several times." He stated.
"No, my phone wasn't broken. I just ignored your calls." She retaliated.
"Gosh, Haley, I was worried about you. You could have at least left me a note or actually answered my damn calls." He said.
"I'm sorry, but I needed to get out of the house. And excuse me, but you weren't exactly my concern at the moment. I don't base what I'm going to do during the day around you." She said.
"That's my baby, too, Haley. You've been really sick ever since you got pregnant. Excuse me for worrying about my baby." He retorted. She didn't say anything. She just glared at him. "I want to know what you're doing throughout the day. I need to know that you're okay." He continued.
"You didn't seem to care yesterday." She mumbled inaudibly.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing. From now on, I will tell you where I am every second of every day." She claimed sarcastically before standing up and walking out of the room ignoring Nathan calling her name. He ran his hands over his face in frustration. He was shocked when he heard the bedroom door slam shut from all the way downstairs. He walked up the stairs and went to open their bedroom door only to find it locked. "What the hell? Haley, open the door!" He yelled.
"No! I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. Just stay the hell away from me!" She yelled from the opposite side.
"God, did you receive a fresh batch of pregnancy hormones today or something?" He yelled. A minute later, he heard her unlocking the door. He smirked. That was until she opened the door long enough to throw out some of his clothes before slamming the door shut and latching the lock again. "Damn it, Haley! Open the door!"
"Go away, Nathan! And don't even think about trying to unlatch this lock!" She warned. Nathan angrily stalked off to the guest bedroom. A bedroom he hasn't slept in in over a year. A bedroom he didn't want to sleep in, because he wanted to sleep next to Haley. He wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms.
The next morning, Nathan awoke and immediately went to their bedroom. The door was open, and he noticed Haley wasn't in there. "Not again." He said aloud and headed downstairs. He heard banging coming from the kitchen and was relieved when he saw Haley cleaning up. "Hey." He greeted only to be met with silence. "Oh, so I'm getting the silent treatment now?" He taunted. He moved closer until he was standing right behind her. He leaned forward until he was hovering right beside her ear. "I know you can't resist me for too long, Hales." He whispered huskily while leaning down placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Get off of me!" She yelled pushing him away from her.
"Seriously, Haley, what is wrong with you?" He asked.
"You! You're what's wrong with me!" She yelled.
"What did I do?" He asked exasperated.
"You really don't know, do you?" She asked.
"Know what?" He asked.
"Forget it." She relented grabbing her purse off the counter heading to the door. "Oh by the way, I'm just going over to Clothes Over Bros to see Brooke. I know you need to know all the details of my day now." She finished before walking out of his sight. He cringed at the sound of the front door slamming.
"Hi, Mr. Scott. How are you doing today?" Stephanie greeted.
"Do I have any meetings or anything scheduled today?" He asked.
"Umm, no. Your day is all clear." She answered. He nodded before heading towards his office. "Mr. Scott, is everything okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long couple of days. Would you do me a favor and hold all of my calls today-unless any of them are from my wife. I need to catch up on some paperwork and stuff. I'm gonna cut out of here early. If you have any thing you need to get done today, feel free to leave whenever you'd like." He said.
"Thank you, Mr. Scott." She said.
"You're welcome. Just let me know when you're taking off." He said before walking into his office.
"Hello, my sexy wife." Lucas greeted Brooke with a kiss.
"Well, hello, my sexy husband." She returned kissing him back. "What brings you here?" She asked.
"No reason other than spending time with you." He answered.
"Aww, that's sweet. Now, what's the real reason?" She said.
"Fine, you caught me. I was just coming by to tell you that we're having dinner with my parents tonight." He said.
"Seriously? Okay, you know I love your parents..." She began.
"But..." He prodded.
"I kind of had other plans for us tonight. You see, I found this sexy, little red negligee." She said seductively while opening a couple of buttons on her shirt revealing the item. "I know how much you love red." She whispered into his ear. "I guess we'll just have to get an early start then." He said as he smirked at her. He quickly captured her in a passionate kiss which she happily responded. He picked her up and set her down on the desk behind him as their kiss heated up. He quickly finished unbottoning her shirt.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" Haley exclaimed as Lucas and Brooke scrambled to face her. "I'm sorry. Do you want your key back to the store?" Haley asked joking.
"What brings you here, Hales?" Brooke asked buttoning up her shirt.
"No reason, actually. I'm just gonna go." She said turning around.
"It's okay, Haley. I need to go and get some stuff done anyway. I'll see you later." Lucas said kissing Brooke on the lips quickly. He gave Haley a hug before leaving. "I'm so sorry." Haley laughed turning back towards Brooke.
"Oh, don't worry about it. You're never truly my friend until you've walked in on me having sex." Brooke said.
"Oh you are something, Brooke Scott." Haley stated.
"True. What brings you by today, Haley James Scott?" Brooke asked as they both took a seat.
"Nathan and I are kind of fighting right now, and I needed to get out of the house." Haley answered.
"Ooh, I'm sorry. What are you fighting about?" Brooke asked.
"Nothing. I'm just being very emotional." Haley said dismissing the real reason. She didn't really feel like rehashing anything. And she knew if she told Brooke the truth, she would march over to the company and give Nathan a piece of her mind. She didn't want to deal with that right now. "I'm kind of hungry. Do you want to go get some lunch?" She asked changing the subject. Brooke nodded and the two girls grabbed thier things and left.
"Mr. Scott, I'm going to head home now if that's still okay." Stephanie said walking into his office.
"Sure, that's fine. Were there any phone calls today?" He asked hopeful.
"Not from Haley." She answered sympathetically. She knew there was something going on with Nathan and Haley. He literally asked her every half hour if Haley had called. She sensed the two were fighting and desperately wanted to call his wife herself to get to the bottom of everything. She had to force herself not to get involved-it wasn't her place. "There were a couple calls from some investors and a girl named, Rachel, called quite a few times." She continued.
"Oh, did she leave a message or anything?" He asked wondering why she called.
"Nope, just to give her a call. Here's her phone number." She answered handing him the piece of paper.
"Okay, thanks, Stephanie. Have a good day." He said as she nodded and left. He sighed before picking up his cell phone to check if he missed any calls by chance. Nothing. He threw his phone down on his desk frustrated. He looked up when he heard a knock on his door and saw Lucas standing there. "Hey, Luke, what are you doing here?"
"I was just coming by to see how you're doing." Lucas answered coming further into the office.
"I'm fantastic." Nathan deadpanned.
"Okay, what's going on with you?" Lucas asked.
"Nothing. Haley and I got into a fight last night and this morning. Sorry, I've just been thinking about it all day." Nathan answered.
"So, that's probably why she showed up at the store today. She probably needed to vent about you to Brooke. By the way, thank you for that. I could have engaged in some really hot sex if it hadn't been for you." Lucas said.
"Sorry, I'd feel bad but I can't seem to muster up the sympathy to do so." Nathan retorted sarcastically.
"What are you guys fighting about this time?" Lucas asked.
"That's the thing-I don't know. She's just been acting crazy the passed couple of days." Nathan stated.
"Well, she's pregnant. She's entitled to act a little crazy." Lucas interjected.
"No, this is different. It's like I did something, but I don't know what I did. She was in a horrible mood when I got home from work last night. She made me sleep in the guest bedroom." He stated. Lucas rolled his eyes at that. He still didn't agree with what the two of them were doing. And with Nathan being his cousin and Haley being his best friend, he didn't exactly want to hear about their sex life. "This morning, she was still pissed off. And when I touched her, she freaked out on me. I don't know what her problem is." Nathan finished.
"I don't know what to tell you, man. I've never dealt with a pregnant woman before. I don't know how to handle it. I would just suggest to try and talk to her again tonight. It could be something, it could be nothing." Lucas said.
"I'll try talking to her." Nathan said.
"Well, I better get going. My parents are coming over tonight for dinner." Lucas said heading towards the door. He stopped and turned back around. "By the way, congratulations." He said as Nathan looked at him confused. "On the baby." Lucas continued.
"Thanks, Lucas, but you did already tell me that months ago when we told you Haley was pregnant." Nathan said.
"No, I mean congratulations on the baby being a girl." Lucas clearified.
"What?" Nathan asked shocked.
"Oh, Haley told me you guys found out the baby was a girl on Sunday. Shoot, was she not supposed to tell me yet? Were you guys trying to keep it a secret for a little longer? If that's the case, don't tell her I talked to you about it. I don't want her mad at me, too." Lucas joked. He looked at Nathan who looked as if he had just received shocking news or something. "Nathan." He said trying to get his attention.
"Yeah?" He said quietly finally looking at him.
"You okay?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, umm...yeah, I'm fine. Have a nice time tonight with your parents." He stammered out as Lucas nodded and left his office. Nathan stared at the closed door still in shock. "The baby's a girl. Oh my gosh, I wanted a girl. Wait, Haley found out on Sunday. That would mean...oh shit!"
Nathan walked into their house. It was quiet and dark. He knew Haley was home, though because her car was in the driveway. He set his stuff down in the kitchen before going in search of her. He walked up the stairs and noticed their bedroom door open. He stopped in the doorway and noticed her sitting on the bed writing something. He smiled. She was in some pajama shorts and a tank top with a zipped hoodie. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, and she had her glasses on. He couldn't help but think how adorable she looked. He softly knocked on the door. "Hey." He greeted quietly.
"Hey." She said without looking up. He sighed knowing this was going to be harder than he thought. He catiously walked further into the room. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm making an itinery of my day. Don't worry, I wrote down every single detail of what I did-including every time I threw up." She answered showing no emotion handing him the paper. Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at her. He placed the paper on the nightstand. "Haley, could you come with me? I want to show you something." He said holding out his hand.
"Why?" She asked annoyed.
"Please, Haley. Please just trust me and come with me." He pleaded. Haley hesitated but saw the sincerity in his eyes and heard the sincerity in his voice. She placed her hand in his hand as he helped her off of the bed and led her out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen. Once they reached the counter, she noticed pictures and samples of nursery designs. "What is this?" She asked softly.
"Well, I know that you are that typical girl who loves pink. I don't mind the pink, but I was thinking of something to make it look a little more modern and contemporary. I was thinking we could do this polka dot type pattern of brown and pink. I was looking through some magazine pages trying to find some different themes and ideas. This seems like a pretty popular idea. I thought you might like it. I do. I think it would be perfect for our little girl." He said.
"How did you find out?" She said still looking at the pictures.
"Lucas mentioned it. Haley, I am so sorry. I don't even know how I could forget about our appointment. You have no idea how much I wish I could take that whole day back and do it over. I know you probably don't believe me, but I was looking forward to that appointment so much. It kills me to know that I missed that moment. And it kills me even more knowing what I did to you and put you through. I am so sorry, Haley." He said. He noticed the tears falling from her eyes. A silence fell over them as he waited for her to say something-anything. "Haley, please. I'm so sorry." He said pulling her into his arms as he hugged her tightly. She started crying even harder. He moved his hand up to her cheek and brushed the tears away as he moved to look at her. She finally looked up to him. He moved forward until his forehead was resting against hers. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry."
"Please don't do that to me again. I can't do this alone." She cried.
"You won't. You're not alone. I promise, Haley. I am here, okay." He reassured as she slowly nodded her head. She stretched her arms up around his neck as she held onto him tightly. He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck with his arms wrapped around her waist. After a few seconds he began laying light kisses along her neck. He felt her run her fingers through his hair. His kisses instantly became more forceful and demanding. She grabbed his face and brought him into a passionate kiss. She let everything she was feeling into this kiss. She used her tongue to part his lips and snaked it in immediately seeking his. He picked her up and set her down on the counter. She moaned into his mouth when she felt his hands on her bare back sliding up under her hoodie and tank top. They heard Nathan's phone ringing, and Haley began to pull away. "Ignore it." He said pulling her back to him.
"It could be important." She mumbled against his lips.
"Nothing's more important than this-you and me. And our baby." He stated placing his hand on her stomach. She smiled before pulling him into a soft, sensual kiss.
Okay, there you go. This chapter a little shorter than usual, but the next one is going to be pretty long. And I thought you might forgive me for having no Rachel in this one. I don't think I'll have a chapter for you guys Monday at all. I'm pretty busy with work all day tomorrow. But the next chapter will definitely be up sometime on Tuesday. And like I said, it will be pretty long and hopefully worth the wait. So, until then!
