A/N: hi all :) okay, so i usually don't do authors notes on here simply because I just like to keep each update strictly about the story. There are plenty of authors notes, thoughts, and song recommendations for each chapter on . The story is posted under the same title and my username is hannahlovesnaley23. I know, I know, so original. Anyway feel free to check that out or say hi if you're a member.

Thank you to all who have reviewed/subscribed/favorited this story, it is incredibly sweet and much appreciated. but the reason for this rare author's note is to say thank you thank you thank you! and to explain the chapter, which might be a bit confusing:

there's a little prologue thingy, and then it skips to two months before, which is told in tidbits, and gets back to present after the double line.

oh, and I kind of disregarded/ forgot about jamie in this chapter, so pretend he's at summer camp or something and Nathan and/or Haley whine about how much they miss him every ten minutes =] Thank you and enjoy.

ten.

Fear.

It consumed her.

The smile on her face had long since vanished, the news she had been rejoicing now laid forgotten in the back of her mind. The comfort and ease she had felt was gone. The happiness that filled her heart was replaced with this fear, this terror, this paranoia.

Her head ached. Her mind whizzed. Her legs shook. Her breaths accelerated. Her blood rushed. Her chest pounded. Her stomach—well, she couldn't think about her stomach.

Black and white police cars filled the street. Neon blue and white flashing lights blinded her. Yellow caution tape surrounded the house. And then there was the red.

Two months earlier…

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face. No matter how she tried, it was glued there. She found herself skipping to the attic and digging for all Jamie's baby things. All the baby books, photographs, toys, she couldn't stop. In between her internal squeals for joy, she wondered how she would tell Nathan, how he would react, what the next nine moths would be like, what the rest of their lives would be like…every scenario she imagined only widened her smile.

"Hales I'm home!" Nathan called. Instead of the 'hey' or 'I'm in here' that he was expecting, Haley jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, giving him an exaggerated kiss.

That famous Scott smirk appeared on his face. "I think this should be the standard welcome every time I come home."

She sighed with a smile, swinging in his arms. "I am so happy. Really, I couldn't be happier. And it's all because of you. I love you so much."

"Right back at you," he said as he put her down and leaned in for another kiss.

"I have something to tell you," she said with a deep breath and reached for his hands, already feeling her eyes begin to glisten. She pursed her lips. In her mind she went through cutesy ways to tell him, hints she could drop, clever insinuations she could make, adorable ways to show him…but she just wanted to tell him. She wanted to blurt it out and see a smile that mirrored hers.

"I'm pregnant!" Her shoulders moved up to frame her jaw line in a shrug, and a nervous smile was etched on her face as she awaited his reaction with glimmering eyes looking up at him.

His eyes widened and a grin spread across his face that stretched from ear to ear. A chuckle of astonishment left his lips as he swooped her up and swung her around. Euphoria radiated from the couple. "We're having a baby?" he asked in wonder, as if the words she'd said hadn't made it clear.

"We're having a baby!"

"Oh, Hales, I love you," he sighed, still beaming, and kissed the top of her head, her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her lips, her neck, and bent down to kiss her still flat stomach. "I love you too," she said, tears of joy happily streaming down her face. "I'm so glad you're happy."

"You have no idea," he said in such a way that you could hear the smile in his voice. Staring into each other's eyes with matching smiles for what seemed like hours, Nathan cupped his hands around Haley's face, gently wiping away her tears and bent down to kiss her. They kissed with a passion like they were still lovesick teenagers, only added was the joy of two people who loved each other unconditionally that just learned they would be bringing another life into the world.

Nathan and Haley were ecstatic; joy emanated from them—they were deeply in love expectant parents. Again. And they weren't scared this time; they were absolutely over the moon.

"Who do we tell first, daddy?" Haley asked with a smile, looking up at her husband. She was fitted comfortably in his arms and one of his hands stroked her hair while the other was entwined with hers, playing with her fingers.

"Um, probably our kid, the big brother," he said.

Her mouth formed an O. "Oh, he'll so love being a big brother, don't you think?"

"He'll be the best."

"Okay, so I'll take Peyton and Brooke, but I can't steal all the attention," she said with a teasing pout, "so I guess you can have Lucas."

"My saintly wife," he sighed sarcastically.

She laughed. "Yeah and you better not forget it!"

"Brooke? Peyton?" She entered the store and laughed when her two best friends' heads popped up side by side over the counter top.

"Hey TutorGirl!"

"Hey, Hales, what's up?"

She struggled to hide a smile. "Oh, I know that look," Brooke said, skipping to Haley. "What are you trying to tell us but don't know how to?"

Creativity was seriously lacking on Haley's part, but whatever, she didn't care. So she was going with the blurt it out method again.

"Okay, no telling anyone until I give you permission. That includes boyfriends, husbands, children. Only Nathan knows and we don't want to make a big deal out of it. But you guys are my best friends anddddd I have to tell you."

"Haley, you're killing us over here! Say it!" Peyton urged.

"Well, Brooke, I'm gonna need that crib I let you borrow back. And Peyton, soon I'll be the one calling you, sleep-deprived, begging for help." Deep breath. "Guys…I'm pregnant!"

Squeals ripped through Haley's ears. Peyton's jaw dropped and Brooke was jumping up and down. Haley was nearly knocked over when both Peyton and Brooke ran to hug her at the same time.

"Haley!!!!! Congratulations! Jamie's gonna have a little sibling! Oh, the twins will have a cousin their age! They'll all be best friends! I'm having another nephew! Or maybe it will be a niece! What if it's a niece? Do you want a boy or girl? Oh, Haley, I'm so happy for you! Me too, this is fantastic! How thrilled is Nathan?! I bet he's thrilled. Is this a surprise or did you plan it? Oh my God, this is so amazing! Haley!!"

*****

"Naaaaaaathan…"

"Yeah, babe?" A devilish smile appeared on her face when Haley's husband entered the room and sat next to her. "Uh oh."

"I'm sooooo hungry." Her lips scrunched to one side of her face.

"Okay, I'll go get you something in the kitchen," he said hopefully.

"But we don't have funnel cake in the kitchen…" the devilish smile made a comeback.

"Hales, funnel cake? It's 11:30 at night! Where am I supposed to get it?!"

And there it was. The pout that could kill him. Sigh. "I'll be back." He kissed her forehead and ran out of the house towards the small county fair that ended at…11:30.

"Wait!" He slammed on the breaks and sprinted to the vender. "I need one funnel cake."

"Sorry, man, we're closed," the owner shrugged.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just really need a funnel cake. I'll pay whatever."

"Why the hell do you need a funnel cake?"

"I've got a pregnant wife at home and she wants one, just please," Nathan begged.

"Oh, I got you, I've been there. I have a one-year-old at home. Coming right up."

Nathan sighed in relief. Thank God.

Haley sat at the kitchen twiddling her thumbs. Nathan flew in the doorway, proudly holding the funnel cake. He nodded and raised his eyebrows. "How awesome is your husband?"

"Oh my God, so awesome," she ran to him and snatched the plate from his hands, triumph radiating from him and adoration radiating from her. He watched her nearly inhale the funnel cake. Once she had finished, she sat up quickly and curiously looked around. Oh no, oh no, oh no. It was now past midnight, he'd have to drive for at least an hour to find a grocery store open, providing it had the godforsaken food she craved now.

"Peanut butter," she said. He smiled. That he could do.

"You know, Hales, I really want a girl, but I'm thinking it's a boy."

"Aw, I'd love to have another boy! Granted, I would be severely outnumbered, which could be very very bad, but it would be me and all my Scott boys." She loved that idea, and her smile showed it. "How come you think it's a boy?"

"If anything, the appetite is a sure sign."

She slapped his shoulder lightly. "Whatever, you try growing a person inside of you."

"I'll leave that to you. Which is one of the many things that makes you amazing, by the way." He kissed her, gently placing a hand on her stomach.

"Nice recovery." They kissed again. "Hmm, you know what I'm craving now?" He groaned. "What?"

"You," she whispered, grabbing his shirt and leading him upstairs. Ah, now this craving suited him very well.

*****

"Luke, tell me you have capers." Nathan said, panting.

"Actually we do. Man, you're doing some serious running around, you get the husband-of-the-year award here."

"I know, it wasn't like this when she had Jamie. There's nothing except the crazy cravings, though which is awesome. She's not psycho or anything. She hardly gets mad or throws anything at me at all, which she certainly did with Jamie. The hormones are kinda funny though, like she'll be sitting there laughing and then start crying because she forgot to put an apple in Jamie's lunch. I just can't actually laugh in front of her, because then the throwing things at me would begin."

Lucas laughed, amazed by Nathan's calmness. "You're one hell of a husband, Nate, I was pulling my hair out with Peyton."

"Yeah, but she had twins. And it was the first time for you, I'm used to it this time around. It also helps that I'm not 17. I don't know, I just tell myself, as long as she does the whole forcing a human being out of her body thing, I can run around a little." He shrugged.

"Very true."

"Now show me those capers."

"Hiya, preggers!" Brooke exclaimed, opening the door for herself and Peyton. "I so love that I can call you that again!"

"Yeah, it's really heartwarming," Haley said dryly and went to hug her friends.

"So what we do today, Baby Mama?" Peyton asked and received a look from both Brooke and Haley. "What? I can't call you Preggers, there's no originality there! So Baby Mama it is."

Both girls laughed and Brooke noticed Haley stealing glances at the door. "Expecting someone?"

Haley's face fell. "Nathan went to go get capers, but I don't want them anymore. He's been so good to me, and now I can't even eat them. He's going to hate me, I'm such a crazy pregnant lady." Her mouth formed into a pout and tears formed in her eyes.

"No, no, no" Peyton said. "He loves you! He won't hate you. Plus, you're not crazy. It's normal. When I was pregnant, I asked Luke to go get me a taco at 3 in the morning."

Hearing that, Haley began to laugh hysterically.

Brooke looked at her with confusion. "It's not that funny." Peyton slapped Brooke's arm, telling her to shut up through unmoving smiling lips without even looking at her.

Peyton's eyes widened with a knock at the door and glanced at the still laughing Haley. Brooke waved her arms in an X at Nathan, who was standing in the doorway, holding a jar of capers. Peyton exaggeratedly shook her head no, to emphasize the message that Nathan was clearly not getting. Finally, realization washed over his face and he threw the jar behind the bushes.

"Hey, girls," he said when he entered. Seriously? Brooke thought when Haley looked on the verge of tears. Yet again. "Hales, I totally forgot what you asked me to get, I'm really sorry," Nathan said. Damn he was good.

Her unhappy look melted away. "It's okay," she sang and skipped up to him to plant a kiss on his cheek. Peyton smiled at Brooke. "She's so cute!"

Brooke shrugged. "Cute, deranged, whatever works." Peyton nudged her. "Yeah, wait til you get pregnant."

A somber look appeared on Brooke's features, her dimples fading. "Yeah, if that ever happens."

Peyton put her arm on Brooke's shoulder. "Hey, it's going to happen. And besides, you're already a great mother to Sam, and Angie adored you. Plus, just 'cause that one got married and knocked up in high school and me and Luke are nutty procreators doesn't mean you have to jump on the bandwagon now. Hales and I are doing this wayyyyy too soon. We're only 23, you've got time."

Brooke nodded, but her eyebrows creased. They hadn't heard a word from Nathan or Haley. She glanced over and saw them basically making out in front of them.

"Okay! Time to go."

Peyton laughed as they walked out of the house. "Only Naley."

Pleasantly settled in Nathan's arms, Haley's eyes shot open and she sat up turned away from him. "Peyton and Brooke!"

He chuckled, his eyes roaming happily over Haley's bare back. "I know, I heard them leave. We're pretty oblivious to that stuff, but we were kinda busy." His hand traced circles all over her back, making her shiver. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love this?" he asked, tracing the number 23 that was tattooed on her lower back.

"A few times," she smiled. "But it does cause a problem. You're number 12 now. I guess I'll have to find myself a 23…"

"Don't even think about it," he said, a smile in his voice, and pulled her on top of him, her laugh filling the room.

*****

"Do you want to know?" Haley asked, unsure. The couple sat in the hospital waiting room, hands clasped together.

"Hales, we already told the doctor we did."

"I know, but maybe we shouldn't, I mean, we knew last time. It would be kinda fun to have it be a mystery, don't you think?"

"Yeah it would." He pondered that for a second. "We shouldn't know."

"Yay! Ooh, this'll be so much fun!"

"Woah," Nathan and Haley sighed in unison. They watched their baby on the sonogram screen. Both were unable to tear their eyes away. Haley's eyes glistened and Nathan wrapped her arms around her and kissed her, both blissfully unaware of the doctor in the room.

He cleared his throat. "Now, we can't see anything now, but if I change the angle I'm sure we'll be able to determine the sex of your baby."

"DON'T!" They shouted. "Sorry, we, uh, changed our minds, we don't want to know. Sorry." Nathan explained. "Really sorry," Haley added, seeing the still shocked expression on the doctor's face.

That night, they sat on the couch, Nathan stroking Haley's legs that were placed on his lap. "What do we do about names?"

"I don't know, I think all the meaningful ones were used up. So we'll just come up with our own."

"I have no clue. What about after your grandparents?"

"Maybe. But I'm vetoing Royal for a boy. Having it for a middle name is enough."

"For a girl, I like Lynne. Not for a first name, but middle. It's kinda Lydia and Karen put together. My mom, and basically my other mom. Luke's mom has meant so much to me over the years, and she helped out so much with Jamie."

"I like that. A combination name that doesn't sound like jibberish. It's a regular name, one that we could've just come up with, but it has an underlying meaning. I like how you think, James," Nathan said. He stopped and tilted his head, deep in thought.

"I've got it! Ava."

"Hm. It's pretty," Haley said.

"Okay, you're going to think I'm crazy but A-V-A. Like Always and forever, except Always and 'foreVA'"

"That is so dorky." She smiled. "I absolutely love it."

"Ava Lynne Scott," Nathan said proudly.

Haley gasped. "Nathan, this is so weird. 'Ava Lynne' combined sounds like 'Evelyn' which was my grandmother's name!"

"Hales, we're on fire! We soooo get the title of best-baby-name-inventors."

"Our kid is gonna be awesome," Haley grinned.

"Without a doubt. I love you, Haley Scott," Nathan said and kissed her.

"I love you too," she whispered against his lips. "I love it when you call me that."

"Haley Scott." He kissed her lips briefly. "Haley Scott." He kissed her again. "Haley Scott." Again. "Haley Scott." Again. "Haley Scott." Again.

She giggled. "Okay, okay! So anyway…"

"Yes, Haley Scott?" She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Were you going to say let's go upstairs, Haley Scott? Because let me tell you, Haley Scott, I like that idea very much."

"Yeah well it's not gonna happen if you keep saying that!" She backed away from him.

"But, Haley Scott, I thought you liked me calling you Haley Scott!" A broad smile was plastered on his face, and he walked toward her. She giggled and sprinted around the house, him chasing her, both laughing as they ran. He finally caught up to her and tickled her, making her laugh uncontrollably and her knees buckled. He caught her and placed his hands on her stomach, their laughter fading and their smiling eyes sharing the look of love. Without words, they interlaced their fingers and walked up the stairs.

*****

"I can't go. I don't want to be away from you." This time it was Nathan pouting. He had a scheduled meeting about his schedule for the Bobcats would be and when he would return to play.

"Aw, baby, I'll be okay. I'm about six months away from giving birth, so we're covered there. And Luke and Peyton and Brooke and Skills and Mouth and Fergie and Junk all live close, probably too close, so if I do in fact become a damsel in distress, which is unlikely, I can call them. So go, I'll be fine."

"Fiiine. Please be safe, okay? I'm a phone call away. I love you."

"I love you too," she said, standing on her tip toes to give him a goodbye kiss.

She watched him leave and closed her eyes as he drove away, trying to rid her mind of the vision of that unkempt and greasy black hair, grayish eyes, wrinkled black t-shirt, ripped jeans.

Fear.

It consumed her. Well, it had consumed her. Now it just festered within her. She felt shielded from the danger, but yet not completely safe.

The smile on her face had long since vanished, the news she had been rejoicing for the past two months now laid forgotten in the back of her mind. The news itself wasn't forgotten, simply the joy that it brought. The comfort and ease she had felt was gone. The happiness that filled her heart was replaced with this fear, this terror, this paranoia.

Her head ached, throbbing on all sides. Her mind whizzed, desperately struggling for balance. Her legs shook, using every ounce of strength within her to stay still. Her breaths accelerated, trying not to give in to the panic that threatened to take over. Her blood rushed, remaining full of the adrenaline she had unconsciously acquired. Her chest pounded, reminding of her of what she had just been through and the toll it was taking on her. Her stomach—well, she couldn't think about her stomach. It was all she had thought about during. It was for the baby she carried in her that evoked paralyzing fear, heartbreaking sadness, and fierce protection. But now she didn't want to think. About anything. She just couldn't bear it.

Black and white police cars filled the street. Neon blue and white flashing lights blinded her. Yellow caution tape surrounded the house. And then there was the red. Her red. Its red? No, she had to tell herself no in order to keep from breaking down. My red, she repeated over and over, my red.