A/N: This is the bridge to Season 5. Notice the changed spelling of Skillz :) Oh, and - The continuity monkeys really had fun with the timeline during the season and I have done the best I can to smooth it out into something that makes sense. Please let me know what you think!!
Third Week of July, Driving Home after Nathan is released from the hospital in NYC.
"All right, I know I had a few things to say about it when you bought this…"
Haley coughed at the understatement.
"But you were right; it's a cool car," he admitted, smoothly moving the Range Rover into the left lane to pass a small convoy of trucks.
"And? Diesel," she reminded him. "Although, today I'm just glad it's got so much room," she looked in the back seat, where Nathan was dozing. Behind his seat was the pile of their luggage and his wheelchair.
"We could have fit J-Luke, too," Luke pointed out.
She gave him a look. "It's a long drive, and Nathan is not exactly himself yet. I'm fine with Deb taking Jamie home on the plane."
"If you say so," her best friend shrugged. "OK, I got another one; take the pain of protecting your name, from the crutch to the cane to the highwire..."
"Oh, please. Gavin DeGraw, In Love with a Girl," she shook her head. "I know I'm not Peyton, but at least try, OK?"
"Yes, dear," he laughed. "Your turn."
"A dollar under water keeps on dreaming for me."
"Jimmy Eat World, Lucky Denver Mint," he gave her a look. "How much longer to Perth Amboy?"
"I have no idea anymore. If someone had told me it would take us 4 freaking hours to go less than 30 miles from the hospital, I would have laughed. New York is insane."
"Well, we're in New Jersey now, buddy. And we are so much older and so much wiser than we were this morning."
"Too true," Haley wrinkled her nose. "OK, It looks about another five miles," she pushed a few buttons on the onboard GPS set into the dashboard. "Not that I understand why it has to be this town we break in…"
"Holy shit, Hales – are you kidding me? The birthplace of Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi?"
"As long as it's the birthplace of a clean bathroom…" she scoffed.
"Oh, Come ON!" He choked, disbelieving. "I went with you to see the rock."
"That rock has huge historic significance! It served as the arbitration point for, like, hundreds of years. It's the American Law Rock!"
" It was a rock! In Queens! No one has written sagas about it, OK?"
"And you dragged me to where John Steinbeck died…" she reminded him. "Yes, so much more impressive. Especially since he's actually buried in California."
"Could you keep it down?" Nathan asked thickly from the back seat. "Cripple trying to sleep."
Haley and Lucas exchanged a look. "Hey, man, you up for some food?"
"Naw," he sighed. "Just my meds."
"Ah…"
"Don't start, Haley."
"We're almost in Perth Amboy," she told him, looking at the back seat where he was lying down.
"Outstanding," he responded, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
Haley sighed.
"The daytime crap with the folksinger slop…" Luke said.
"Uh…" she thought.
"I'm a loser; Baby, so why don't you kill me?" Nathan answered.
"Beck," Lucas agreed.
She glanced at Lucas. He shrugged.
"As a matter of fact I don't recall this photo being taken; you don't even actually exist…" Nate offered.
"Modest Mouse, Exit Does Not Exist," Luke responded quickly.
"Album?" Nathan asked.
"This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About," Luke retorted, getting the point as the words came out of his mouth.
Nathan nodded, closed his eyes, and tucked in the earbuds to his iPod. Luke tried to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror, but Nate was lost already in his own world.
………..
First Week of August, Nathan's PT Appointment.
Nathan gritted his teeth as physical therapist adjusted the weight ratio. Again.
He was strapped into a ridiculous harness over a treadmill, walking while carrying only about 70 percent of his body weight. Or, he guessed, 75 percent now.
"So, any pain?" Drew, the therapist, asked as he pushed some buttons on the treadmill to change the speed slightly.
Nate wanted to remind the dickhead that the harness was pressing exactly against one of his wound sites. That his arms shook when he was pulling himself up off the toilet. That every minute of every day he could hear that glass window breaking in his ears. And that he should be training with the Sonics in a world-class gym instead of relearning to walk like a baby in a lame-assed therapy center.
Instead, he just shook his head and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The sweat dripping between his shoulder blades.
"No?"
"No," Nathan ground out, thinking that a shot of vodka with a Motrin chaser would fix him up later when he did begin to feel the soreness that was sure to come.
"All right, then," Drew shook his head. Then he checked the readouts from Nathan's heart rate monitors and jotted down some numbers on the clipboard. "You're doing good."
Nathan almost groaned in frustration.
"How about other functions," Drew pressed. "Like going to the bathroom. Everything still fine there?"
He gave Drew a murderous look and then turned his attention back to the treadmill. To his feet, which seemed to buckle with every other step.
"I'll take that as a yes. And sexual activity – any issues? Have you resumed relations?"
"How the hell is that any of your business?" Nathan demanded, feeling about as pissed by the little weasel's questions as he was by his indulgent attitude.
Drew reached over and slowed the treadmill again. "Look, Nathan. There are things we need to know for your recovery."
"No, you don't," he corrected. "And you're wrong. There's been no improvement between my last workout at the hospital in New York and now. I don't call that good. Why do you?"
Drew exhaled loudly, frustration mirrored on his face. "It takes time," he reminded Nathan.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could probably get the same workout walking in my pool," he tugged off the monitors, letting them dangle on the railing. Then he grabbed a towel and mopped his face.
"That would be an excellent augmentation of the regimen, yes," Drew nodded.
Nathan eyed the shorter man for a long moment, and then nodded. "Help me to the shower," he ordered. "I've got another appointment."
"But…"
Nate lifted his eyebrows and stared. Drew gave in, and he reached up and released the harness – tugging it off Nate's body. Then he steered the wheelchair to the end of the treadmill, locking its wheels so Nathan could safely drop his body into the seat.
Without a word, Nathan unlocked the breaks himself and pushed off in the direction of the locker room.
Two hours later, he was sitting by the exit. Still waiting to leave.
"Oh, hi," she stopped short, seeing him in the shadows. "I thought you'd still be in there. Didn't they say…"
"Your phone's off," he interrupted.
"The battery died, it's charging in the car."
"So what happened to the appointment with the lawyers? Did they cancel?"
"I told you, Nathan, that I would take care of it. I just want you focusing on getting better," she tried to meet his eyes, but the sharp afternoon sun pressing against the dimness of the hallway and hid his expression from her.
"And I said I wanted to be there," he bit out.
"It was just…" she took a step closer to him. "Uh, easier for me to do it."
"Because I'm in a chair?"
"No! No, Nathan. Because Skillz could only watch Jamie for a few hours, and you had PT, and these guys have been hard to nail down. And because, I just hate all these distractions for you, when you have…"
"Like the meeting with Gerry? And the tours of schools for Jamie?"
"Uh," she looked around the corridor, suddenly realizing how public they were. "Can we talk about this later?"
"Sure," he shrugged.
She went to push his chair but he waved her off, turning the wheels himself and passing her as she held the door for him.
Once they'd settled in the Range Rover, Haley paused before starting the car. "Nathan, we've barely been home a couple of weeks and it's been really, really busy. There's so much to get done, and none of that should be interfering with your recovery, you know?"
"You don't think I can handle these things?"
"No, I think that you're just out of the hospital and you almost died! Plus, the doctors said that it takes most people…"
"When did we become 'most people'?" he wondered. "We never used to be."
She bit her lip, at a loss for a response.
"I'm tired of you treating me like I'm gonna break, Haley."
"But, you did!" she argued.
He reached over to touch her arm, pained by the lone tear streaking down her cheek. But she shrank back, and he dropped it. "Are you even going to tell me how it went with the lawyers?" he asked after a long moment.
"It went fine," she answered, recovering and trying to keep her voice neutral. "The upfront money is ours, they aren't going to try and take it back."
"So we're OK," he stared out the window.
"Yes," she agreed. "If we're frugal, we can probably be all right on what we have until Jamie's in junior high school, at least."
He exhaled. "Boy, guess they're regretting that contract now, huh?"
"Nathan," she rebuked, suddenly exhausted.
"They're not releasing the shoe, are they?"
She couldn't bring herself to answer.
"I thought so," he gave a bitter chuckle.
Haley shook her head, started the car and put it in gear. "I know everything seems wrong right now, but it will get better," she told him. "Just…focus on getting well, OK?"
"It's not like I have anything else on the schedule, now do I?"
Third Week of August, Lucas' House.
"All right, I got everything on the list," Lindsey said, dropping the two bags of groceries on the kitchen counter.
"If, by everything, you mean the macaroni and the cheese – then we're good," Lucas began helping her unpack the food.
"Macaroni, cheese, and two different wines. Let me tell you, Mac 'n Cheese as an entrée will stump even the most learned of wine sellers."
"I bet," he chuckled.
"Your mom sent the recipe?"
"She did," he pointed to where he'd attached it with a magnet to the fridge. He looked around the house and sighed. Turning to Lindsey, he began to say something but she interrupted.
"We're bringing the food to eat at their house, and not having them over as originally planned."
"How did you know?"
"He's not walking yet, is he? And this house isn't exactly…"
"No, it isn't. And…no, he's not."
She turned and leaned her back against the counter. "The accident wasn't even two months ago, Luke," she reminded him. "He's only been home a few weeks."
"He's off the steroids, sensation and control is completely back in both legs, so why isn't he taking it to the next level? Just a few months of PT and he could be back."
"To what he was in June?" she asked gently.
"No one knows – but it's possible," he gusted. "Wouldn't he want to find out?"
"Like you raced to take your HCM test?" she challenged, a teasing gleam in her eye.
He turned his head to really look at her. "Sometimes it's unfair that you know so much about me…"
"While I still have secrets?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Mmmmm," he wrapped a hand around her neck and held her close. "I'm so lucky to have you, you know that?"
"I do," she smiled, kissing him. "So tell me the rest of it."
"What?"
"Tell me you're not coming to New York, Luke."
"Uh…I don't know that," he stepped away and began filling a pot with water.
"I do," she said gently. "You won't leave your family, not at a time like this. You know, Karen and Lily left, Deb left, the café is closed. And yet, you came home, Luke. You to this house and Nathan and Haley bought theirs not 15 minutes down the road."
"What are you saying?" He put the pot on the stove to boil and turned back to face her.
"I'm saying that the four of you are a force to be reckoned with. And at a time like this, you won't split up."
"No," he nodded. "I don't think we could."
"So…"
"Are you mad?"
"I will be," she shrugged.
"If?"
She looked up to meet his eyes and waited for him to figure it out. And he did. He wrapped his palms around her hands and looked at her sincerely; "Stay with me here?"
"Stay?"
"Live," he asked. "You are wise, and beautiful. And you've obviously seen what I hadn't figured out yet – you're right. Tree Hill is home. Nathan and Haley and J-Luke are home. I can't go. Especially not now, not while Nathan is in that wheelchair. It was different when you and I thought that they'd be across the country by now. But that doesn't mean I don't love you, Lindsey. I do - please say you'll live with me here."
"I will," she agreed, seriously. "Although, I'm going to have to be in New York a lot of the time…"
"We can make it work," he held her face in his fingertips and kissed her. "Webcams can be extremely hot."
"Hmmmm," she agreed against his lips. "But you don't have nearly enough closet space…"
"I'll re-do the laundry room into a closet just for you," he assured her, kissing her again.
"And you'll have to really write that second book, if we're going to say that…"
"Practically done," he laughed, kissing her even deeper the third time.
"OK," she leaned back her head and laughed. "But only because I love you, and, of course, them…"
"You do," he teased. "You're truly stuck in our Scott Family web, now."
"Oh, goody," she let him pull her even closer.
"Mmm," he relaxed his cheek against her hair while she rubbed his back in slow circles.
"Can you fly up to New York and help me move down some of my stuff?"
"Try stopping me," he assured her.
"Oh!" she pulled away and pointed. "The water is boiling! Get the recipe!"
"OK, OK," he laughed, pulling down the piece of paper. "It's just Mac n' Cheese."
"It's Karen's Mac n' Cheese," she corrected. "And it has to be just right, for Haley."
"Yeah," he agreed, his heart melting at her genuineness. "Then, all right, first…"
Labor Day Weekend, Scott House.
The music could be heard from the front of the house. At the back, the grill smoked and the water splashed.
"Dawg, you never gonna beat me with those water wings on."
"I know," Jamie said seriously. "But I'm not ready to take them off yet. I'll sink."
"Aiight," Skillz shrugged. "But I'm not giving you a head start, ya'here?"
Jamie nodded, and Junk counted down for them, "Three…two…one!"
With a jump, the two began swimming for the far end. "And Skillz Taylor has an early lead!" Mouth announced, sitting on the side with his feet in the water.
"How they coming?" Lucas asked, resting his chin on Haley's shoulder.
"Burnt on the outside, raw on the inside," she laughed. "I'm too distracted, why don't you take over?"
"Gimme," he held out his hand and she dropped the over-sized spatula on it. "How's student teaching?"
"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "Mostly grunt work. On the one hand, I'm glad it's not for long. On the other, I'm nervous about flying solo once the current teacher goes on maternity leave."
"You're going to be great," he assured her, not for the last time. "I just wish the Principal would call back with news on our applications."
"Are you kidding? You and Skillz? They're gonna jump at the chance to have you," she sounded sure. "Just tell me again why you'd get an assistant coach. Whitey never had one."
"Whitey had the budget for one, he just made every candidate cry until they Board stopped sending them."
"Whitey? I don't believe it!" Haley scrunched her face in disbelief.
"You don't get 500 wins by being a 'cooperative' leader, Hales," Luke chuckled. "Whitey did not play well with others when it came to sharing his team."
"But he shared with you," she reminded him.
"Yeah," he gave her a quirky smile. "And now I'm sharing with Skillz. And if you saw this team, you'd know they need all the help we can give them."
"You've met them?"
"IF we're hired, then not officially until fall practices start up. But I started watching their tapes last night and…eww," he shuddered. "How's our boy?" he asked, glancing at edge of the patio where he sat in his chair, nursing a beer.
"I don't know if today's gonna be a good day," she sighed. "He got really frustrated trying to take a shower by himself this morning. Gave himself a couple of nasty bruises."
"Wait, I thought you had that big bathtub?"
"Upstairs," she pointed out. "He's crashing on the couch every night; it's just too much for him to climb the stairs yet. And he won't let me help him half the time. I…just wish he would."
Luke nodded and gave her a heartfelt look. "I wish he'd let me help, too." He looked over at his sister-in-law and gave her a tepid smile. "How about you and Jamie? Do you have a plan for him? You know, once Skillz and I are coaching – you're gonna be out of available babysitters."
"I know," she groaned. "I have to hire a nanny to pick Jamie up afterschool and watch him until I get home. In the meantime, what do you think…" she looked over at where Fergie and Junk were sitting by the pool.
"Oh, no," Luke laughed. "Not my godson. We'll figure something out for now, OK?"
She gave him a grateful smile.
Lindsey appeared at the top of the stairs, and called down to them. "I smell food!"
"You made it!" Lucas grinned. He handed Haley back the spatula and jogged up to kiss her.
Haley sighed and stared down at the burgers and hot dogs – trying to decide which ones were done.
"Hi," Nathan said softly.
Haley jumped and turned. "I didn't even see you!"
"Stealth chair," he joked. Relief at his playful expression flooded her like adrenaline. He cocked his head, looking up at her with a hint of a smile and she grinned back, suddenly giddy with love.
"How are you doing?"
"All right," she assured him. "This is nice, having our first party here." Haley looked around the backyard and smiled.
"More a barbeque than a party, although the way you're cooking…"
She flipped everything with a rueful expression.
"I wonder if we should have invited some of the other guys, as well…"
"Like Tim?" she squished down one of the hamburgers.
"Maybe," he shrugged. "Although since he married Bevin…"
"Yeah," Haley agreed, glancing at Skillz.
"The ones on the left are really done; take them off already. If you want I can put them on the table," he indicated the buffet she'd set up.
"Oh, uh, OK," she found a plastic plate and carefully piled it with some of the food. Nathan put it in his lap and carefully wheeled it over.
"C'mon, Jimmy Jam!" he called to his son as he took one of the hot dogs and put it into a bun. "Lunch time!"
Before the enthusiastic 4 year old could make his way over, 4 hungry men attacked the spread like piranha. Nathan backed up with Jamie's meal in one hand, playfully guarding it against Skillz' attempt to steal the food. When his son appeared, Nate got him settled at the table with the food.
"Ketchup," Jamie requested, looking around.
"Here ya' go," Mouth tossed over the plastic bottle and Nathan attempted to catch it but it went over his head and landed in the pool.
"Man!" Skillz reprimanded his friend.
Lucas and Haley caught their breath, waiting for Nate's reaction. After a long moment, he looked at Mouth. "Well? Go get it," he ordered, the humor in his eyes taking the edge of his words.
Mouth jumped in after it, fully clothed, and everyone erupted in laughter.
Luke reached out and squeezed Haley's hand. "Maybe a good day, after all," he said softly.
She nodded at him, and went over to join her guys.
