A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Ten

Early the next morning, the four kids eagerly woke up the adults before they ran down to see what Santa had left them. They couldn't believe the amount of presents that were under the tree. To their delight, Zach and Penny noticed that there were quite a few presents with their names on them. However, there would be no opening presents until everyone was downstairs. The kids waited impatiently until their parents were in the living room.

"I'm so glad that they are only allowed to wake up us this early once a year," Brooke told Haley as they made coffee for the three adults. "I hate getting up early and Penny inherited that from me. But Zach is just like his father. They are the first ones awake. What about you?"

"I have always been an early riser," Haley replied. "I suppose it's because I always had things to do and I wanted to get them done as soon as possible. My sister Taylor, on the other hand, was one who would sleep until noon if my parents would have let her."

"Mommy, can we open presents now?" Penny whined.

Brooke gave her daughter a stern look. "Penelope Rose Scott, don't give me that attitude. I think you can wait a little longer until Haley and I are done here. Why don't you and Cassie find some Christmas music to play while we open presents?" she suggested. Penny wasn't happy, but she obeyed her mom's orders. Brooke shook her head in amazement. "Sometimes, I think she is a little too much like me."

"Yeah, I can just imagine her becoming a cheerleader when she gets into high school," Haley agreed. Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn't remember telling her that. "Penny may have mentioned it once or twice when she and Cassie were playing dress up."

Brooke nodded understandingly. "What about you? What were you like in high school?" she asked. "Was there anything you did besides work with kids?" Haley shook her head as they brought the drinks into the living room.

Brooke sat down on the sofa while Lucas joined the kids on the floor. He was going to help Noah with opening his gifts. Nathan stood in the doorway and watched as Haley passed out the gifts. As soon as one of the kids were handed a present, they ripped it open. There were wide smiles and happy faces as the children found out that they had gotten exactly what they wanted. The floor was soon covered with books, toys and a few games.

Tristan gasped in surprise when he opened his next gift. "Wow, it's Uno," he exclaimed happily as he turned to Haley with a wide smile on his face. "Thanks Haley."

Haley gave him a smile in return. "You're welcome. I thought you might like it."

"What is this game?" Cassie asked as she showed her the box that was in her hands. After her brother had opened his gift from Haley, she had wanted to do the same thing.

Haley sat her down on her lap. "This game is the updated version of Chutes and Ladders," she told her as she explained the game. The little girls were excited to play the game as soon as possible. "Why don't we play the game after we eat some breakfast?" The girls groaned, but they followed Haley into the kitchen. The boys were right behind them.

Just as they were finishing up, the doorbell rang. Nathan and Lucas offered to help clean up while Haley answered the door. She nodded in agreement and went to see who the visitor was. Opening the door, she was completely surprised when she saw her older sister standing there. Quinn embraced her in a tight hug before she walked into the foyer.

Haley finally managed to find her voice. "Quinn, what are you doing here?" she asked. Quinn gestured to look behind her. She turned around to see Nathan and his children smiling at her. "Did you arrange this?"

"We could tell that you were missing your family," Nathan explained. "So we tracked down Quinn and she was thrilled at the idea to come and visit you for the holidays. I even went further and bought tickets so you two can join your family in New York for New Year's Eve. You leave early tomorrow morning."

Haley returned the smile. "I don't know what to say except thank you." She embraced the family in a gentle hug before she did introductions. Quinn couldn't help but smile as she and Nathan shook hands. Tristan and Cassie then offered to give Quinn the grand tour. Haley was then left alone with Nathan. "You really don't know how much this means to me."

"Well, you should really thank Tristan and Cassie," Nathan told her. "It was their idea. Cassie wanted to make sure you weren't sad."

Haley turned red in embarrassment. "I guess I didn't hide my feelings very well."

Nathan gave her a comforting smile. "Hey, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed. It's okay if you miss your family. After all, it is the season to spend time with family."

"That's Thanksgiving for me," Haley replied. "For me, Christmas is about making others happy, especially the children. My friends are planning to go to the Children's hospital this afternoon and cheer them up. Why don't you and the kids join us? Or do you have to get ready to leave for a game?"

"No, I can make it," Nathan replied. "But the children won't be able to go since Renée will have them for the next few days." Haley nodded understandingly. She had been told that Renée worked as a consultant so her job required a lot of travel. That was why Nathan had the kids for most of the first half of the school year.

Well, it was really Haley who had them most of the time. After all, Nathan was off at his games. But he couldn't help that he had to travel. It was just part of his job as a professional basketball player, but everything was going to change soon. Nathan hoped that Renee would be willing to give him full custody of the children after his retirement with visitation rights for her. Yet, he wasn't going to bet on it.

After the quick tour, Nathan shooed the kids off to play so the two sisters could catch up. Haley led to her bedroom so they could have some privacy. Quinn looked around the room impressed. "Wow, you have your own bathroom and everything. It's official. You and Taylor are both living the good life."

Haley tried not to laugh. "You did not just compare me to Taylor. We're nothing alike. Taylor has a million fans who admire her while I only have a few. And they are so much better because I care about them."

Quinn gave her a wide smile. "Well, it looks like they care about you too," she replied. Haley had to agree. They wouldn't have tried to get Quinn to come to spend the holidays with Haley if they didn't want to make her happy.

Haley shook her head in amazement. "I still can't believe that you're here in Charlotte. How long has it been since we've seen each other? My college graduation?" Quinn nodded. "I'm sorry I haven't stopped by the gallery lately. These past few months have been really crazy."

"I can see why Taylor is so jealous of you right now," Quinn replied. "You know how she would do anything to be able to meet Nathan."

Haley stopped her right there. "I know all about that. For months now, she has been trying to get me to ask him to arrange a meeting with her. I told her that if she was thinking about getting involved with him, she would have to pass his estranged wife's test and the child test. She stopped bothering me with calls after that. Can you imagine Nathan and Taylor dating? The press would have a field day."

"Can you imagine Taylor settling down with a guy?" Quinn asked her.

Haley gave her a look. "Are you kidding? Taylor never thinks of anybody but herself. I doubt she will ever settle down with a guy. She loves her career too much." Quinn had to agree with that. "You, on the other hand, will probably find the right person to settle down and start a family. Of course, you might have to stop traveling long enough to meet a guy."

"Actually, I have thought about taking a break for awhile," Quinn replied. Haley looked at her surprised. "I miss you guys and home. And I do want to have a relationship without my work getting in the way. And I want to settle down, get married and start a family, not just for Mom and Dad. But I want to do it for me. I want that dream to come true."

"It's a wonderful dream," Haley agreed. She gave her sister a comforting smile. "And I'm sure you will find the right guy." The conversation was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. "Come in," Haley called.

Cassie and Penny poked their heads in. "We wanted to show you what Grandpa Dan and Grandma Deb got us," Penny told them as they jumped on the bed. "They didn't get a chance to give them to us last night. And I won't get to see them tonight because we're going to my other grandparents' house."

"And I'm going to Mommy's house," Cassie added as the girls showed the two their presents. As Quinn and Haley complimented on the gifts, Cassie spoke again. "Tristan got a bunny. Do you want to see him?"

The sisters nodded before Penny and Cassie led them back downstairs and into the living room. Nathan introduced Quinn to his parents as everyone looked over the brown rabbit that was in the cage. "He's so adorable," Haley said. "What are you going to name him?"

"Thumper," Tristan announced as he embraced his dad in a hug. "Thanks Dad. This is almost as good as your retirement from the Bobcats."

The room suddenly got quiet as Dan turned to his son. "Retirement?" Tristan then realized that he had made a mistake. He gave an apologetic look to his dad before he followed Lucas and the others out of the room. Before Nathan could explain, Dan spoke first. "When the hell were you planning on telling me?"

"I was waiting for the right time," Nathan replied, knowing that the answer wouldn't be good enough for his dad. But he didn't care.

"Did everyone know about this except me?" Dan demanded. "Why would you do this? Why would you throw your career away?"

Nathan glared back at him. "Unlike you, I want to be there for my kids. I have missed so much of their lives already. I don't want to miss anymore." Dan was about to reply when Nathan didn't let him. "And don't feed me that crap about Renée. The kids see their cousins more than her. And you know it."

Dan shook his head in disbelief. "You know, this is all your brother's fault."

Nathan couldn't believe that he was blaming Lucas. "Don't bring Lucas into this," he defended. "It's my decision to leave the N.B.A."

"Lucas is your older brother. He is supposed to set an example for you," Dan pointed out. "And you followed his example by marrying your girlfriend too early, not to mention getting pregnant before you were even out of college."

"We weren't expecting to get pregnant with Tristan," Nathan reminded him. "It just happened that way. But I don't regret it. I love Tristan and Cassie. I want what is best for them. And right now, they need me to be there for them."

"So how are you going to support yourself and the kids?" Dan sneered. "Because you know you can't be a stay at home dad when you're the only parent in the house. And what about Haley? Are you going to fire her? You're going to have to if there is no money coming in."

"I don't know," Nathan admitted. He hadn't gotten that far in planning this out. "I'll get a coaching job or something." Dan just scoffed at him. "I have plenty of time to figure it out. After all, the season doesn't end for a couple more months."

Dan was about to answer when Deb returned. "The rest of your argument will have to wait. We need to get Brooke to the hospital. Her water just broke."

A few hours later, they got the news that Brooke had given birth to a healthy baby girl named Arabella Joy Scott. Penny was thrilled to hear that she had a little sister. So was Zach since they now had an even number of boys and girls in the house. They couldn't wait to start helping their parents with taking care of the new baby.

It was around that time when Renée came to pick up Tristan and Cassie. Dan didn't even try to hide Nathan's secret from Renée. He just told her flat out that Nathan was retiring from basketball at the end of the season.

Nathan didn't say anything as Renée turned to him. "Wow, that is certainly a surprise. This doesn't have anything to do with the divorce, does it?"

"No, Daddy wants to spend more time with us before we're all grown up," Cassie piped up.

"Oh, I see," Renée said. Nathan knew where this was going to lead. She turned to Haley. "Haley, can you help Tristan and Cassie bring their stuff to the car?"

"Are you going to yell at him like Grandpa did?" Tristan asked her.

"No, we're just going to talk," Nathan promised him. "Now go and say good-bye to your cousins." Tristan didn't move. "Go on." Tristan followed Haley and his sister out of the room. Dan was right behind them. Nathan was ready to defend himself. "Look, I know what you are thinking. But I've been thinking about leaving the Bobcats for awhile now. I want to be there for our children since you won't be."

Renee was ready to defend herself. "I'm sorry that I'm not a soccer mom, but I want to make sure our children get the best that there is."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Tristan and Cassie are children. They could care less about the school they attend or the presents we get them," he said. "Hell, I could care less about them. Do you know what Tristan told me just before my dad found out about my retirement? He told me that getting his rabbit was almost as good as finding out that I'm not going to play professional basketball anymore. Don't you see? They want more time with us. And I'm going to embrace that time while I still can. Because you and I both know that those years aren't going to be there for long. Soon, Tristan and Cassie will want to play more with their friends than us."

Renee gave him a look. "So now you want to be the loving doting dad? Well, it's a little too late for that. You've had your chance."

Nathan looked at her hard. "Wait a minute, you're not planning to take my children away from me, are you?" he demanded. He didn't let Renée answer. "Tristan and Cassie are my life. Besides, I thought we agreed that we were going to do what was best for the children."

"Would you calm down and let me explain?" Renee asked. Nathan remained quiet. "You're not the only one who has been thinking about our divorce and the children. Before your announcement of your retirement, I was thinking that it might be best for Tristan and Cassie to stay with someone who can take care of them. It's not fair for them to stay with either of us if we are gone all the time."

Nathan had to agree with that. "So who do you have in mind? My parents? Your parents?" Renée continued to stay quiet. Nathan wasn't in the mood for guessing games. "You know what? It doesn't really matter because I can take care of them now." Renee was about to open her mouth when Nathan interrupted her. "I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet, but I'll figure it out."

Renee could see that her estranged husband really wanted to do this. "I still think you should consider my idea to have the children sent to someone who will be able to take care of them, but I guess we'll talk about that next time. Good-bye Nathan." She didn't say anything else as she left the house. Nathan was right behind her. He and Haley said good-bye to the children before Renée drove away.

Nathan then turned to Haley. "So what time are you guys going to the hospital?"

Nathan was thrilled that he decided to go with Haley and Quinn to the hospital. It wasn't just a great distraction, but he was a big hit with the kids. He couldn't help but smile as he signed autographs, took pictures with his young fans and heard how he was such a role model and how this young person would love to become a professional basketball player when he grew up.

"Boy, I had so much fun today. I don't know why I never thought of volunteering like that before," Nathan told Haley as he drove them home. "I can see why you do this all the time. It really does cheer these kids up and show that they aren't forgotten. I might even go back tomorrow after I visit Brooke and my new niece." He shook his head in amazement. "I never thought she would have her baby on Christmas Day. It was probably all the stress from Dan's visit that did it. Haley stayed quiet. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Haley assured him. "I just had a long day. And I still need to pack my things for the trip. I still can't thank you enough for doing this for me and Quinn. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Nathan gave her a wide smile. "Don't worry about your job. I'm not going to fire you. And even if I did let you go, I don't want you to walk out of our lives completely. The kids would be crushed. And to tell you the truth, I would hate it too. You're still part of our family, no matter what happens." Haley was quiet, but her smile said it all.