Okay, so I'm not going to say very much now; I know this update has been a long time coming ( and I apologize). I also apologize for it being so short. I've had like the worst writer's block ever. I thnk maybe the season finally starting helped kick the block. Anyway, more later. I'll let you get on with the chapter. Please, please…if you are still reading, please review and tell me honestly what you think. Thank you so much!!

Chapter Five: Stuck

Finally… he thought as he fell into his first class seat on the flight bound for Tree Hill, North Carolina. After a frustrating two hour flight delay, he was finally on his way home, his true home. After being away for almost two months, he was finally going home to his wife and his son. And what made the day even more special, today was Jamie's fifth birthday.

I can't believe he's five already…Nathan thought, staring at back of the red seat in front of him. From his carry on bag, sitting at his feet on the floor, Nathan pulled from the pocket, a photo he kept with him wherever he went. He smiled as he stared at the smiling faces of Haley, holding their son, then three, in her arms. They were both so beautiful, and so happy, at least that day they were….

"Jamie Scott dribbles down the court," Nathan announced as he carried his son on his shoulders and ran down the river court. Haley watched as her boys played together.

"Scott passes left…right…avoids a steal…approaching the net now. Jamie ,get ready!"

"I'm ready, Daddy!" Jamie shouted excitedly, holding his basketball up above his head.

"Okay, here we go!" Nathan stopped at the free throw line of the court. "Jamie shoots…"

Three year old Jamie tossed the ball up into the air, in the angle of the hoop and all three Scotts watched as the ball soared down through the net.

"And he scores!" Nathan shouted as he lifted his son off of his shoulder and holds him up in the air like he is flying. "And the crowd goes wild!"

Haley screams and claps for her son.

"Way to go, Jamie," Haley said as Nathan carried him back over to her. "Momma is so proud of you."

"Thanks, Momma," Jamie says with a wide smile. "Are you going to play with me now?"

"Of course, baby, but I want a picture of you and daddy first, okay?"

"Okay…you and your pictures."

Nathan and Haley both laughed as Haley prepared her camera.

"Okay," Nathan whispered to his son. "When your mom tells us to say cheese, we make silly faces for the camera, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, give me five."

Nathan high-fives his son. They both look back at Haley and the camera at her instruction.

"Okay guys," she said. "On the count of three, say cheese and smile. Ready…one…two…three!"

"Cheese!" The boys say before making their goofy faces.

"Hey…" Haley remarks when she sees the picture in the digital screen. "You two were supposed to smile. I'm sending that picture to my parents."

"What? Nana and grandpa don't like silly pictures?" James asked, leading to laughter from both of his parents.

"No, of course they do, but I wanted a nice picture, one where you are showing off that handsome little smile of yours. So won't you give me one?"

"Oka,y but only if you take the picture with me, Momma."

Haley smiles again.

"Okay."

She passes the camera to Nathan before lifting her son off the ground. Nathan watches as she tickles him, erupting much laughter from him. He snaps a quick picture of that moment. Then, Haley kisses her son's cheek. She runs a hand through his spiked blond hair and directs him to look at his dad.

Nathan continues smiling as he lifts the camera to his eyes.

"Okay," he says, focusing the camera on his wife and son. "On the count of three…one…two…three!"

He snaps the picture. And when it comes back on the screen, he grins. What a beautiful picture….

He's kept that picture with him ever since it was developed. He looked at it every day, just so that he could feel closer to them. Of course, whenever he put the picture away, he just felt so far away again, which he was. He missed them so much. He missed seeing them everyday. He misses waking up next to Haley every morning, and watching her sleep at night. He misses tucking James into bed every night. He misses taking his son to the park and to the river court. It'd only been two months, but it felt like two years sometimes.

It was painful, not being able to have both of them with him every day. It was different when they were living in Detroit too, and he would just be away from them for a day or two. But now that they were living miles apart and he could only see them every few months or so…it depressed him. He felt so lost without them. And the only thing that made him feel somewhat better was basketball.

Playing basketball kept him busy so he didn't have to face his loneliness. It was ironic, though, that the game that gave him his escape, was also the reason he and Haley and James were living apart. His dream of playing ball had brought him to Detroit shortly after college, and his family had come with him. But after a few months, Nathan could see how unhappy they were there. Haley missed her friends and her hometown, and Jamie missed his cousins and aunts and uncles. And Nathan hadn't wanted them to live in a place that made them unhappy just so he could live out his dream. So they had changed their plans around a little; Haley and James moved back to Tree Hill, and he stayed in Detroit to play basketball, taking every spare moment he could to come and see them. When he had persuaded Haley into going through with this plan, however, he hadn't expected it to be months in between his visits with her and James.

Having his wife and son so far away from him has proven more difficult than Nathan had ever thought it would be. He knew it would be hard, but he had also thought he would have more time, more opportunity to visit them. Nathan had been having a hard time living with his decision to keep playing the game away from his family. He sometimes thought maybe he was being selfish. But the truth was, the game stopped being about him a while ago, his playing the game stopped being about him anyway. Though it killed him everyday to wake up without his family there, Nathan stayed and played, not because he loved the game so much; not because he wanted to live out his dream, but because he had to keep playing…for his family.

Before his big break with the Detroit Pistons, Nathan struggled to support his family. He worked two jobs while playing college ball just to get through rent and the bills every month. But now, with this team, with this career, there was stability for him and his family. For the first time since he married Haley, Nathan is able to provide for and support his family without fear that the electricity might be turned off because the bill was late. With his contract and his salary, he doesn't have to worry about being evicted. In fact, he was able to buy a house for his family in Tree Hill, plus afford a nice apartment for himself in the better part of Detroit. Things were okay now. And they were okay because of basketball, because he finally had the basketball career he'd dreamt of having his whole life. And while he loved and wanted to be with Haley and Jamie more than anything in the world, he was still afraid to give up this life, afraid of how his family's life might change if he did.

Sure, he was worried and afraid of how the situation, of how living so far away from each other, might be hurting his relationship with his wife and his son. But he was more worried and afraid of what might happen to his family if he gave this all up now; if he gave it all up before he really felt stable enough too. What would happen to all the money in a few years, after months and months of bills and payments? How would he support them then? Would Haley be disappointed in him for quitting? Would she think he was selfish? He didn't want her to ever be disappointed in him. And he certainly didn't ever want her to think he was selfish, because he wasn't; or at least, he tried not to be.

All these things stayed on Nathan's mind as the plane took off. He thought about them over and over again, and wondered what, if anything, he was going to do. Would he talk to Haley about any of this? How was she feeling about the situation? And if she was feeling anything he was feeling, what would she think he should do? What would she ask him to do?

Nathan considered these questions often whenever he was alone to think. And at first, he did consider choosing to quit the team and move back to be with Haley and Jamie. But then, he realized everything would change, and he feared what that would do to his family. Plus…he remembered another reason why quitting now was out of the question; he…had a contract.

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Well, I hope that was somewhat enjoyable for those still with me. (And I truly appreciate those who are and who have not given up on me.) I wanted to put more in this chapter, but then I just started writing as the ideas came and I realized that what I had just fit together better than my original plans, and that anything else added would've been mixed in before the story was ready for it, so this is where I am right now. I'm sorry if any of this was redundant, or too focused on the same thing. I was trying to figure out how to get out so that Nathan's thoughts and feelings would be understood by all of you. And these thoughts and stuff are going to show up again later, quite possibly during a confrontation with Haley, but we will get there when we get there. Hopefully, you will all still be with me then. Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this chapter and if you have any questions. And the next chapter I am still working on, but it is probably going to go back to Brooke or someone again. And some familiar characters may be joining the story soon as well. So please keep reading. I WILL BE BACK!!!!!