9.
After driving Karen to the hospital, speeding as much as they could without being pulled over by the three police cars they passed on the way to the hospital, they were following the doctors and nurses up to the maternity ward.
A few minutes later, Haley had her cell phone out and was dialling Andy Hargrove's number.
"Hello?" a groggy voice asked after the fifth ring.
"Andy, hey, it's Haley," Haley said quickly.
"Haley, it's late, why are you calling at this hour?" Andy asked sleepily.
"Uh, I'm with Karen at the hospital," Haley said slowly.
"What's wrong?" Andy asked in alarm, all trace of sleep from his voice gone as worry took over.
"Nothing's wrong," Haley replied, shaking her head at her idiocy. She should've known that telling him that his wife was in the hospital would illicit that type of reaction from him. "Karen's in labour."
"Labour?" Andy exclaimed.
"Yeah, so, you might want to get down here before you miss the whole thing," Haley replied.
"I'm on my way," he said and then hung up without waiting for a response from her.
Haley pulled the phone back a little to glance at the screen and noted that the call had been ended. She shook her head in amusement and then dialled another number.
"Hello?" Brooke answered the phone.
"Brooke, why are you answering Luke's phone?" Haley asked, a little unnerved by the fact that it wasn't Lucas who answered.
"Uh, Luke's asleep right now," Brooke replied, glancing at her sleeping boyfriend on the bed beside her. She was sitting up working on designs for her class the next day that she had to show her teacher.
"Well, wake him up and put him on, please," Haley said.
"What's going on, Haley?" Brooke asked.
"Uh, just put him on. He'll fill you in," Haley replied.
About three minutes later, hearing Brooke giggling about something her boyfriend had said, Lucas finally took the phone from her. "Haley?"
"Hey, Luke, you need to get down to the hospital now. Your mom's in labour," Haley replied, talking really fast once again.
"All right," and then he hung up.
Haley stared at the phone in disbelief. "Whatever happened to saying goodbye?" she asked of the inanimate object.
Four hours later, Karen welcomed hers and Keith's daughter Maya Rose Scott into the world, and Andy fell in love with his stepdaughter.
Maya Scott had her mother's porcelain complexion and black hair but her eyes were the same shade of brown as her father's.
"She's gorgeous, Karen," Haley said, smiling brightly at her best friend's mother.
"Thank you, Haley," Karen said.
Giving the family time to get to know each other, Nathan and Haley wandered out of Karen's hospital room to a deserted hall in the maternity wing.
Nathan's arms came around her waist and he nuzzled her neck.
Haley leaned back against him and kissed his cheek as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
"Are you ready for that?" Nathan asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
A shudder ran through Haley as she recalled hearing Karen's painful screams while she was in labour.
"I can't wait to meet our son but am I ready to give birth to him?" Haley replied.
Nathan looked at her and nodded.
Haley shook her head. "Not so much."
His arms tightened against her momentarily. "You'll do fine when it's your turn," he assured her.
Haley turned around in his embrace and locked her arms around his neck. "Just so you know, I plan to be medicated. None of that being aware crap for this one," she said, chuckling at the expression of disbelief that took hold of her husband's face.
"Some women choose not to have the epidural?" he asked.
Haley nodded. "I think they regret it later though," she said.
"Good thing I married a smart woman then," he joked, leaning down to kiss her.
Haley gleefully allowed him full access to her mouth and never one to waste an invitation, Nathan darted his tongue into her mouth and after a minute or two of exploring, he started to massage her tongue.
He groaned when she pushed herself harder against him and when he tightened his own arms around her, he felt it.
He pulled away and stared at her stomach in disbelief. "Did you feel that?" he asked, staring at her in wonder.
Her smile was brilliant as she felt another pop within her abdomen. "I did and I also felt the one after it," she said, chuckling as she winced against another kick from her unborn son.
"He's kicking," Nathan concluded, coming closer again.
Haley took his hand and pressed it to her abdomen. "Yes, he is," she replied.
"Wow, that is amazing," Nathan remarked as he felt one kick after the other, in total three kicks against his wife's stomach.
"It was amazing but now it's just annoying," Haley said, wincing yet again.
He looked at her in amusement. "You're carrying a Scott in there. Were you really expecting him not to be an active one?" he asked.
Haley rolled her eyes. "He's definitely going to take after his father," she said.
"He'll be smart like his mom," Nathan added.
Haley cocked her head to the side as she studied his serious expression. "Don't say crap like that. You are smart too," she scolded him.
"But you are a genius," Nathan smirked.
"Well, I can't argue with that," she said smugly, smiling at the mischievous look in his eyes at her comment.
"Come on, we better get back," he said as he took hold of her hand and started to walk away.
"Later," Haley pouted, pulling him back to her.
"All right," he said easily.
An hour later, they returned to Karen's hospital to find that Karen had fallen asleep as had Andy and Lucas was sitting in a chair in the furthest corner from them, holding his baby sister.
Haley walked in ahead of Nathan and put her arm on his shoulder. "Where's Brooke?" she asked.
"Oh, I sent her home to get some sleep for that presentation she has tomorrow," Lucas said.
"You mean, in a few hours," Haley corrected him, showing him her watch that indicated it was already six in the morning.
"Wow," Lucas commented and then turned his attention back to Maya.
"How does it feel to be a big brother?" Haley asked, peering at the infant.
"Amazing, I feel so protective of her already," Lucas replied.
"Huh, that's what my brothers and father said about me when they held me after my mom gave birth," Haley said.
"Wasn't your father in the room with your mom?" Nathan asked.
"No, he had to stay in the waiting room to make sure the others didn't trash the place," Haley replied, giggling at the memory of her father telling her that a while back.
"So exactly what would she be to me?" Nathan asked, wondering about the whole relation thing.
"Your cousin," Haley replied.
"That's weird, my brother's sister being my cousin," Nathan said.
"Well, if Keith were your dad, then she'd be your sister," Haley said.
"One could dream," Nathan said, wondering how things would have turned out if his uncle were his father instead of his actual father.
"But then I wouldn't be your brother," Lucas said.
"Yeah, that would suck," Nathan said.
"You'll probably be like a brother to her anyways," Haley said.
"And James will probably be her best friend," Lucas added.
Haley smiled at the thought of her son and Luke's sister growing up as best friends. "Yeah," she nodded in agreement. "That would be something."
