Thanks to saderia, bellasmomma, HJS-NS-23, ell6ange, kaykay, luvnaley23, courtneylovejason, naley4ever323 and LaFilmeMichelle for reviewing.

Thanks to Christina for editing.

It's BACK! Yes, I know this story has been missed by certain readers so I decided that it would be the first story I pull off of hiatus and get back to work on it. Enjoy the tenth chapter everyone.

Kate

10.

"Why are you always so whiny after your set?" Haley complained as she turned around to face Chris Keller once again.

He had just performed a set of songs off of his upcoming album for his last performance at TRIC before he hit the road to promote the album on his new tour.

Then, ten seconds after he got a standing ovation from the crowd of Tree Hill and other fans that had come to check him out from neighbouring towns; he walked off stage and made a beeline for her office.

Haley had been on the way out at the time and the two had nearly crashed into each other but Haley's now huge pregnant stomach had served as an indicator to Chris that she was there.

She had taken one look at the expression on his face, told him that she didn't want to hear whatever he had to say this time and continued on her way to the crowded club floor to sit back down with her husband.

But her warning had not deterred Chris in the least. He started to follow her and list all the things that had been wrong with the stage while he performed. If it wasn't the fact that there weren't enough lights around the stage where he sat in his chair, strumming his guitar and sang, it would be that there were too many lights on in the audience and they blinded him.

"I'm a musician, Haley," Chris began to explain, but when Haley scoffed he stopped mid sentence and glared at her. "I am!"

"You're far too demanding for someone who is only releasing their second album," Haley criticized.

Chris scoffed at her naïveté. "Compared to those pop princesses and boy band pansies, I am a breeze," he pointed out.

"And just for the record, exactly how many albums have you released since the tour?" Chris challenged.

Haley laughed genuinely at him. Despite their rickety past and professional differences, they still managed to get along at times. "None, but then again, I'm not a musician," Haley said.

"Oh, yes, you are. You've just given your music up," Chris retorted.

"There are more important things in my life now than some pipe dream I had when I was seventeen," Haley replied, putting her arms around her stomach.

"And I when I go back to school, I will continue to work towards becoming a music teacher," she said.

"You want to be a music teacher?" Chris raised his brows curiously.

"Yes," Haley nodded.

"Great for you. Now let's get back to me," Chris said.

Haley sighed in exhaustion. "What's the point? This was your last performance. So it doesn't matter if there were too many lights, or not enough. It doesn't matter if your microphone squeaks when you sing high and by the way, sometimes that means you're singing too high," she said.

"I wasn't going," he began to say but she cut him off.

"Your songs were good, the crowd ate you up so go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back or whatever it is you do to stroke your ego and leave me the hell alone," Haley finished.

Chris stared at her in amusement for a few minutes while she glared at him in frustration.

"Are you done?" he asked, cracking a smile at her.

"Keller, I swear to God, if you're going to list one thing wrong with this place, I will punch you again," Haley warned.

"Relax, I'm not going to complain," he said, putting his hands up as a sign of peace.

"Then what do you want?" Haley asked, looking at him undecidedly.

"I want to book a gig," he said.

"What?" Haley asked.

"I want to add TRIC to my tour," he explained. "Tree Hill is a big part of my fan base and I feel comfortable here. It's almost like coming home when I visit. Plus, the publicity would lift the club's earnings."

Haley stared at him wide-eyed. "Did you just think about someone other than yourself?" she asked.

Chris narrowed his eyes at the accusation. "Of course not," he snapped and stepped away from her as if he had been burned by her words. "The gig will help boost TRIC's earnings but I'm totally doing this for myself."

"Uh-huh," Haley chirped disbelievingly.

"I am," he insisted.

"Okay, fine, when do you want to perform?" she asked, changing the subject.

"July," Chris replied.

Haley wrinkled her brow at him. "That's two months from now," she said.

"That's when I'll be back in North Carolina," he replied, shrugging carelessly.

"Okay," Haley said as she went back to her office and marked the day down.

"I'm going to pack up and then I'll be out of here," Chris said as he stood by the door to her office.

"Good for you," Haley muttered disinterestedly.

"You're not going to give me a goodbye kiss?" he asked, looking at her disappointedly.

"I'll give you a farewell punch if you want," Nathan said from behind him in the hallway as he turned the corner to his wife's office.

"Hey, Nate," Chris smiled brilliantly at the basketball star. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I don't have time for that. I'm late as it is."

"Then you should get going," Haley suggested, her gaze looking at the doorway pointedly.

It didn't take Chris long to get past Nathan and disappear down the hallway.

Nathan looked at her curiously. "Does he do that a lot?" he asked, looking angry.

Haley shook her head. "He knew you were there, Nathan, that's why he did it," she said.

Her husband looked at her in shock. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," he insisted.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Honestly, but when I came back to see what was taking you so long, I saw you and Chris talking in the hallway and then you led him back to your office and I got curious," he said.

"He wanted to book another performance," Haley explained.

"Are you almost ready to leave?" he asked, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.

Haley smirked and walked over to hug him. "Yes, I'm ready to go now," she said and she felt his arms come around her back and pull her closer to him.

"But I do need to be able to get my purse and coat," she said after a few minutes.

"Okay," he pouted and let her go.

Haley reached for her purse off the top of her desk, throwing her cell phone back in the front pocket and then put her arms through the sleeves of her coat that Nathan held out to her.

"Thank you," she said when she fastened the zipper up half way.

"You're welcome," he said and they headed towards the door but as soon as Haley reached the light switch and began to flick the lights off, her desk phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Nathan told her immediately and grabbed a hold of her left arm and gently pulled her towards the doorway.

"I might as well," Haley protested.

"No, you're out the door," Nathan shook his head.

"No, you are but I'm still in the room," Haley replied, pulling out of his grasp and walking back to her desk.

"Hales, come on," he said.

"Oh, be quiet you big baby, it's just one phone call," she said as she picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, ignoring Nathan's scoff.

"Hello?" she spoke into the phone.

"Is this Haley Scott?" a strange woman on the other line asked.

"Yes," Haley replied hesitantly.

"Are you Deborah Scott's daughter-in-law?" she asked.

Deb, Haley thought miserably. What had she done now?

"Yes, I am," she replied bitterly.

"Is your husband with you?" the woman asked.

Haley's gaze flashed to Nathan. "Why, what's wrong?" she asked protectively. She did not want Deb to suck him back into her problems. Nathan had finally cut Deb off after the whole gun in the café incident and it had taken a lot of strength for him.

It had been unbearable to turn his back on his mother when it was so obvious to everyone that she needed help but Nathan had said that he had done all he could for her and that it was time to give tough love a try.

Nathan looked at her in confusion as he finally came back into the office. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Mrs. Scott is being held on a 24-hour psychiatric observation," the woman said.

"What?" Haley demanded, reaching out her hand for Nathan who took it almost immediately.

"Your mother-in-law is recovering from a failed suicide attempt from earlier tonight," the woman said.

"I'm the head nurse here at the hospital," she added.

Haley felt tears sting her eyes as she thought of Deb swallowing a whole bottle of pills in the bedroom of her big house where she lived all alone. "How bad is she?" Haley asked.

"I need to talk to your husband. I can't release that information to you," the nurse said simply.

"But I'm her daughter-in-law! I'm family!" Haley protested, a sentence she never thought she'd say with so much conviction.

"But you're not her daughter, I need to talk to her son," the nurse said regretfully.

Haley held the phone away from her face and turned to Nathan sadly. "Your mom's in the hospital. She tried to commit suicide," she explained, saying it as quickly as she could to get it over with. She figured it wouldn't matter if she told him gently or simply, he would still be hurt either way.

Nathan paled visibly and he tightened his grip around her hand. Haley knew he was struggling to keep his tears under control. It wasn't often Nathan cried but when he did, he did so in the privacy of their bedroom or apartment, never in public.

Haley just wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a loose hug. "It's okay," she said as she handed him the receiver so he could talk to the nurse. "The nurse needs to tell you about her condition."

Nathan spoke softly to the woman on the phone and when his wife tried to pull away from the hug, he stopped her, tightening his one arm around her back in a silent plea for her to keep hugging him while he was on the phone.

After he hung up with the nurse, he explained to Haley that the hospital had to pump his mother's stomach but they weren't sure if all the pills were recovered. She was in intensive care and on a suicide watch for 24 hours.

"We should probably go see her," he said while they were in the car.

"Okay," Haley said as she started the engine of the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm going to check our messages," he said as he took his cell phone and dialled the number to their answering machine.

There were two new messages. The first was from Brooke and she called to remind Haley of their plans for the weekend.

Nathan told Haley about the message and she rolled her eyes and then told him that the message was garbage. Brooke and she didn't have plans anymore.

"Message deleted," the machine's automated voice said.

"Nathan," Deb Scott's voice came on the line and Nathan jumped, rattled by how delirious and depressed his mother sounded. "I'm sorry, I couldn't be what you needed me to be. I'm not the mother you deserve. I'm not what anyone deserves and I know that now."

"She's going to try again," Nathan voiced his realization aloud.

Haley glanced at him. "You don't know that," she said.

"I just got her goodbye message," he informed her.

Rage was the first emotion that Haley identified after he played the message again over the speaker after she had pulled to the side of the road. She didn't like that Deb always managed to hurt Nathan worse every time she did something. Sadness was the second emotion. For all her faults, Deb was a decent enough person and it was heartbreaking to hear her sound so defeated.

"She's going to keep trying until she succeeds," Nathan said, returning to the subject.

"Then we won't let her try again," Haley said in determination.

"How are we going to stop her?" he asked.

"We're going to be there to watch over her," Haley said.

"What are we going to do, move in with her?" Nathan asked incredulously.

Haley looked at him and when he realized that she was considering doing so he looked at her in disbelief. "Really? You would really do that for her after everything she's done?" he asked.

"Yes," Haley replied.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because I'm not only doing it for her, I'm doing it for you and our son too," Haley replied.