Nathan sat slumped by Lucas' hospital bed, his hand encompassing Lucas' and his head resting on the edge of the mattress. At a glance it looked like both boys were peacefully asleep, but with a closer look it became evident that this was not the case. Lucas was in a coma; the multitude of machines beeped and rattled as they kept him from the edge of danger. Nathan tossed restlessly in his sleep, the scene in the hallway running through his dreams and turning them to nightmares. Deb had taken Tyler home, stating that a hospital was no place for a toddler and offering to stay with him.

Nathan hadn't left his brother's bedside since Lucas had been brought to the hospital four days ago, a fact which made Karen eternally grateful. After so many years of being rivals, the brothers had finally learned to rely on one another. She hadn't realized the extent of that reliance, however, until yesterday. Starving after forsaking food for so long in favor of watching over her son, she had finally gone to the hospital cafeteria. When Karen returned with enough food for herself and Nathan, the sight had shocked her.

Lucas' hand was clasped in Nathan's as Nathan gently stroked his older brother's hair from his forehead. He leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to Lucas' mouth, lingering there and trying to seek reassurance from the feel of his brother's warm lips on his. Karen had gasped, but not audibly enough for the young man in the room to hear. She had turned and walked from the doorway, feeling as though she were intruding upon something personal, something she had no part in. When she returned ten minutes later with coffee, Nathan had resumed his position in his chair and was calmly reading a sports magazine.

"Nathan?" she asked gently. The boy looked up. "Here, I brought you some coffee and a sandwich." This was neither the time nor place to confront him about what she had witnessed.

"I'm not really hungry," whispered Nathan.

"You haven't eaten at all, Nathan. You need to keep your strength up," she persisted, and Nathan grudgingly took the offered food.

"He's going to be okay, Nathan."

"I know, but what if he's not?"

"He will be. You saved his life. Not everyone could have looked a gunman in the eye and still managed to get out of there alive. You were brave."

"I was so scared, Ms. Roe. All I could think about was getting him somewhere safe where they could help him."

"Sometimes, Nathan, being brave doesn't mean not being scared. Sometimes it means doing what you have to even if that's what scares you the most."

"But what if being brave isn't enough? What if you try to face your fears and you just can't? What if you know you have to move on but it's just too hard?"

"Is this about Haley, Nathan?"

Slowly, the boy nodded. "She's not coming back, is she? She had a gig in Charlotte. I drove all the way there and told her to meet me after her concert, on the steps of the war memorial. I waited and waited for her. But she never came."

"And maybe she won't, Nathan. But sometimes people surprise you."

"No." Nathan shook his head sadly. "We had our chance. I still love her, but it wasn't enough. She won't be back."

Karen stood in the doorway and watched the boys. Both were so hurt, almost beyond repair. Lucas would hopefully wake up soon; at least the doctor's had seemed to think that he might. For Nathan, though, what pained him couldn't be repaired on an operating table. He mumbled in his sleep and Karen stepped closer to hear.

"No, Haley!" he cried loudly. A tear ran down his cheek.

She leaned forward and shook his shoulder. "Nathan, honey, come on, wake up. It's only a dream."

Nathan shifted and sat up. He wiped his cheek angrily, embarrassed to be caught crying in his sleep, or at all. Realizing his hand was still entwined with Lucas', he yanked it back quickly and Lucas' arm fell off of the bed, dangling so that his fingertips brushed the linoleum floor. Nathan stared at what he had done, too dazed to carefully lift Lucas' hand back onto the bed, as Karen did a moment later.

That evening, Lucas finally woke up. He opened his eyes to see Nathan's brilliant blue ones staring back at him, overjoyed. Nathan leaned over and pecked him on the lips before brushing his long bangs off of his face. They had watched each other for a moment, simply relishing the fact that they were both there, alive. Then Lucas shifted and moaned. "What is it?" demanded Nathan hurriedly. "Are your bandages bothering you? Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?"

"Water," moaned Lucas huskily. Nathan leaned over his bed to reach for the water pitcher on the bedside table on the other side. As he did, Lucas tugged on his shirt, pulling Nate's lips down to kiss. Instead, Nathan's chin hit Lucas' nose and both boys pulled apart, grimacing but laughing.

Karen watched from her hospital chair, giving them a moment of private intimacy before stirring to show that she, too, was awake. The boys jumped apart guiltily, Lucas leaping so far backwards that he nearly fell off the opposite side of the bed.

"Glad to see you're awake, Luke," said Karen, pretending that she hadn't noticed the guilty looks or odd behavior. He smiled as he accepted the cup of water that Nathan had finally managed to pour for him. "You had us scared for a while, there. The thanks goes to Nathan, though. He saved your life." At this remark, Lucas flashed Nathan an even bigger smile. Their eyes spoke volumes that Karen noticed, but could not understand.

Nathan accompanied them home and tucked Lucas into his bed. When he came out again, Karen was sitting on the couch with a serious expression.

"Nathan, we need to talk." He glanced at her and knew instantly what she wanted to know. He had thought she might have seen him kissing Lucas in the hospital. He'd seen her shadow out of the corner of his eye, but by the time he'd turned around, she was gone. Nathan sat uncomfortably on the edge of the couch, by Karen, and turned halfway to face her. She handed him a mug of coffee and stated, "I think you know what I want."

"I'll be careful with him, I promise."

"I know you will. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." She paused and looked him in the eye. "Nathan, how did it all start?"

"We were lonely," responded Nathan, looking down at the mug in his hands. "I was lonely. Haley had just left, and he was there to comfort me. And it just happened. We tried to forget it at first, but something kept pulling us together. I don't know what it was, really –"

"Love," broke in Karen.

"What?"

"It was love. I've seen the way the two of you look at each other. It's like you know that if you're together, the world will make sense again. Nothing can hurt you because you'll face it side by side."

"Yeah. How do you know all that?"

Karen smiled. "Because believe it or not, I was in love once, too."

"With Dan."

"Yes, with Dan. He wasn't always a bad man, Nathan. Once he was as happy and passionate as you are now. He loved to laugh and nothing lit up his face more than having just played a great game of basketball. I know that now it's all about competition and being the best, but once upon a time, Nathan, he really loved the game. And I loved him."

"I'm not sure I believe in love anymore, Ms. Roe. In the end, it only ends up hurting people."

"I know that you're hurting now. And sometimes that's what love does. But it can also be the best feeling in the world. Don't give up on love, Nathan. Don't you ever give up on it."

"Nate?" called a hoarse voice from the back of the house. Nathan glanced at Karen before getting up and going to Lucas.

"Yeah, Luke?"

"Will you stay with me?" Lucas asked quietly. Nathan nodded and climbed into Lucas' small bed, wrapping his arms around his older brother and giving him a quick kiss on the back of his neck. But Luke's words reminded him of someone else, someone he had known a lifetime ago, he thought, and he realized what he had to do.

He showed up in her doorway after leaving the hospital. Even when the doctor had told his father that Nathan had collapsed from an overdose, his father still wouldn't accept it. It didn't fit his vision of a perfect world, and his perfect son, neither of which truly existed.

"Nobody answered the door." He said hoarsely when he walked into Haley's room.

"They're gone for the weekend…how are you?"

"Not so good." He answered and he sounded like a lost little boy, about to cry. "It's just, I've made a lot of mistakes, Haley. Sometimes because of my dad, sometimes by choice." Nathan sat shakily on her bed, staring at his hands. "Sometimes I can't do it anymore."

"It's okay." Haley reassured him, afraid for him.

"No. It's not okay. I'm not okay. When I fell on the floor tonight, I was so scared. I was so terrified. And I saw you, and I promised myself that if I could just get up I'd walk over to you and tell you how much I need you, how much I want you. And nothing else matters." She kissed him then, and in that kiss was a promise that she would always be there when he needed her, that she needed him just as much, and that together they would get through this.

"Haley, would you stay with me tonight?" He asked her slowly, hoping she'd say yes, afraid she'd say no. But she knew that he needed her and that she would be there for him like she had just promised with that kiss; she nodded yes.

He had fed Tyler his bottle and attempted to burp him.

"He likes you," said Haley, and Nathan smiled weakly.

"I've never been around babies before." He confided. "I mean, I've never really had the chance, especially not having any sisters or brothers."

"Except Lucas." Haley cut in.

"Yeah," grimaced Nathan. "Except Lucas. But then, he's never really been my brother, has he?"

It was true. Lucas had never really been his brother, not in any proper sense. They had been rivals from day one, an opposition encouraged by their father and one that only grew over time. They'd grown up in different households, with different families and friends. The only things they shared were a love of basketball, a hatred for one another, and a common last name. And over time, when Dan was removed from the picture, forcibly, Nathan might add, they had learned to overcome their differences. They had come to love each other as brothers, come to depend on each other, and perhaps they had confused that with something more. But it wasn't, it couldn't be. He was still in love with Haley. He had to go and get her back.

So when Lucas' sighs subsided into soft, rhythmic breaths, he carefully untangled himself from his brother and crawled out from under the blankets. He opened Lucas' bedroom door that lead directly outside – he had long been jealous of the freedom that door provided – making sure not to wake Lucas up. His first stop was to pick up Tyler, who stirred and whimpered when Nathan lifted him from his crib, but did not wake up. He left a note thanking his mom for watching the infant, buckled his son into the car seat, and set off to bring Haley home.