"Haley?"

Haley was in a state of complete shock and panic. Haley hadn't planned on him waking up while she was there. He wasn't supposed to wake up while Haley was there. She had merely planned on being with him without his actual knowledge that she was there with him. What was she supposed to do now?

Despite her worries, Haley gently squeezed his hand and gently smiled at him. In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter except that she was face to face with her husband again. The fact that Haley was on the run didn't matter. The fact that he thought she was dead didn't matter. All that mattered was the two of them. It was as if the world around them had just stopped.

"Hi Nathan," She whispered, her eyes pooling up in tears.

"They told me you were dead," Nathan mumbled. He appeared to be in a state of exhaustion and confusion.

"Yeah I heard that too," Haley murmured smiling sadly at him.

"Am I dead too?"

Haley was unsure of how to answer him. It would be very wrong to let him think they were both dead when they were indeed alive, but Nathan was not ready to know Haley was alive. She would have to go along with letting him think he was dreaming. To avoid having to answer his question, Haley simply changed the subject.

"Nathan I've missed you so much," Haley whispered, gently stroking his cheek.

"I've missed you too. Life kind of sucks without you," Nathan replied reaching up to tenderly push a piece of her hair out of her face. She looked so different from the last time he saw her. Haley was no longer pregnant, and her hair was much shorter and darker. She also looked exhausted. Nathan did not understand why Haley looked so different in death. Is this how she looked before she died? Had the killer forced her to change her appearance? Why did she look so tired? Had his late bride been unable to find peace with her killer still on the loose? What had happened to their baby? Nathan had so many questions for her.

"Haley, what happened that night after I went upstairs? I came back, and you were just gone," Nathan asked, his voice still hoarse.

Haley sighed. She needed to give him something. He deserved some answers.

"He took me while you were in the shower. He told me if I screamed he would kill us both. So for your sake I kept quiet and let him take me," Haley told him, and his gorgeous blue eyes had tears in them.

"Oh, Hales I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you from-"

"Nathan listen to me," Haley cut him off, she was running out of time "I need you to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me. There was nothing you could have done; he would have just taken me some other time you left me alone. It wasn't your fault baby."

"Hales who took you?"He asks.

Haley shook her head at him. She could not tell him. It would only put him in the path of danger.

"It won't make a difference," She tells him, and he looks angry.

"Won't make a difference? Of course, it will make a difference! You deserve justice, Hales! Whoever did this to you deserves to pay!"Nathan states incredulously.

Again Haley shakes her head at him.

"It won't Nate, you'll just get more hurt than you already are," Haley tells him "Please just please stay out of this."

Nathan opens his mouth to argue with her but quickly closes it. If Haley wanted him to let it go, he had to. He loved his wife too much disrespect her wishes, especially if this could be the last thing she ever asked of him.

"Alright,"Nathan says tiredly. He looks seconds from falling back asleep.

Haley did not have much time left, but there was something else she needed to know.

"Nathan I need to ask you something."

He slowly opened his eyes to look at her "Anything,"

"Nathan who attacked you last night?"

Nathan shakes his head "I didn't know him. He hit my car, and when I turned away to call the police, he just attacked me. Tried to fight back, but he was too strong."

"Nathan what did he look like?"Haley pushed, a feeling of dread coming over her.

Nathan shrugs "Big guy, messy long blond hair, had a beard..."

Haley's blood felt like ice in her veins. Nathan had just given her a description of Damon.

Nathan noticed the change in Haley.

"Haley, what is it?"He asks worriedly.

Haley does her best to muster a reassuring smile. Nathan did not need to worry about her; he needed to worry about getting better.

"Nothing,"she says.

At this point, Nathan is trying his hardest to stay awake.

"Haley?"He asks, fighting to keep his eyes open "What happened to the baby?"

At the mention of Emma, Haley smiles and can't help but brag about their little angel to him.

"Oh shes wonderful Nate! She's perfect in every way!"Haley gushes.

"She? It was a girl?"

Haley nods, smiling at him.

"A girl," smiles "I wanted a girl."

With that, Nathan falls back into unconsciousness, leaving Haley in awe. With one last kiss to his forehead, Haley gets up.

"I love you," She whispers before exiting his room to meet Peyton back out in the hallway.

"All good?"Peyton asks offering her a friendly smile.

Haley smiles back "Thank you, Peyton. Not just for this, but for everything you and Jake have done for Emma and me."

"Its no problem,"Peyton replies, reading Haley's facial expression she asks "Haley whats wrong?. Is Nathan-"

"Nathans fine,"Haley is quick to reply "He is going to be just fine. I can feel it. I-I just need some time to think. Do you think you guys could watch Emma just a little while longer?"

"Yeah sure no problem, take as much time as you need."

"Thank you!" Haley says giving the other girl a hug "Just try to keep eyes on her as much as you can. Especially here,"

Peyton nods "I'll see about taking them back to Luke and Brookes house; they should be safe there."

Haley gives a small smile at the mention of her other friends. There was nobody else she would trust with her daughter's life more than them. Well except for Nathan. With one last thank you and smile to Peyton, Haley rushes towards the stairs. After everything that just happened, she desperately needed some air. Haley is more aware of her surroundings now with the knowledge that Damon is near. She is surprisingly not afraid for herself anymore. Knowing that he was the one who attacked Nathan, Haley wanted blood. Mess with her all he wanted, but don't touch Nathan and don't touch Emma. Haley was through with being afraid and through with being nice.

After leaving the hospital, Haley found herself driving aimlessly around Tree Hill. After a while she found herself parked outside of the gates of the Tree Hill cemetery. Haley was not sure how she ended up here, but here she was. After a moment Haley got out of her car and wandered into the cemetery. She knows the risk she is taking walking around in broad daylight, but she really didn't care. It takes a while, but Haley eventually finds what she is looking for. She felt a sense of awe when she saw the bouquet of purple wildflowers next to the grave. They were fresh. Nathan had been out here recently to visit her. It wasn't her in that grave though.

It felt strange to see her name on a tombstone. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that it wasn't her, that she was alive. She knew it would do no good though.

Haley wondered about the girl who had been buried under her name. Who was she? Did she have a family? Were they looking for her? What had happened to her? How had she ended up being identified as Haley?

Haley felt a significant amount of sadness that the girl was in the wrong grave while those who loved her might still be looking for her, praying for her safe return. Haley made a promise to herself that once she got her own life sorted out, she would find justice for the girl in her grave.

"Whoever you are I'm so sorry everybody thinks you are me," Haley whispered to the tombstone "It's really not fair to you. I promise when this is all over I will find you some justice. I'll talk t your family and try to give them some closure. Some peace."

Haley is so wrapped up in her conversation with her Jane Doe that she does not notice the man in the distance watching her. He smirked smugly and made his way towards her.

Haley held her breath as she heard the approaching footsteps. Her blood went cold when the individual spoke to her.

"Hi Haley, long time no see,"

"Damon."She whispers before a hard blow to the head knocks her unconscious.

Later on in the hospital, Lucas sat by his younger brothers bedside. He sent everybody back to his house a while ago, telling them that he would call them if anything changed with Nathan. By a miracle, Nathan starts to stir after a while.

His blue eyes flutter open, and he croaks for Haley.

Lucas looks at his brother with pity. He really never was going to be able to let go of Haley ultimately.

"Haley's not here Nate," Lucas reminds Nathan gently.

"No,No she was here,"Nathan insists "We talked. She was here!"

"Nathan, Haley is dead. She's not here Nate," Lucas tells Nathan sympathetically.

Nathan closes his eyes and nods understandingly. Lucas excuses himself to go and call everyone to let them know Nathan is awake.

It had all just been a dream. A perfect dream. His Haley was dead, and she was never coming back. Nathan felt himself wishing that he was dead too. Why couldn't he have been killed in the attack? Then he could be with Haley...

Peyton stood at the sink in Lucas and Brookes kitchen washing the plates from dinner. Jake and Brooke sat in the living room with the kids watching a movie. They had all done their best to occupy the kids while waiting to hear news on Nathan. Peyton and Jake were starting to get worried for they had not heard anything from Haley either. They understood she was going through a lot, but it was unusual for her not to call to check up on Emma.

Peyton hears the phone in the next room ring, and Brooke anxiously answers it. Brooke talks on the phone for a few minutes and then comes running excitedly into the kitchen.

"Nathans awake!"She tells Peyton with a smile on her face, "And he seems like he's going to be just fine!"

Peyton smiled "That's great!"

"Yeah, Jake's going to go up there now,"

Peyton nodded "Okay sounds good."

"Since the guys, Lucas will probably be at the hospital all night you can put the kids in Luke, and I's room and you and Jake can take the guest room."

"What about you?"

Brooke shrugs "I can take the couch."

"Brooke you don't have to do that,"

She waves Peyton off "Its fine, I wanted to stay up to work on some designs anyway."

Peyton shrugs and decides it is better not to argue with Brooke "Alright,"

She wanders towards the next room to tell the kids it is time for bed. She glances at the time on the microwave before leaving the room. It is nearly 10:00. It had been almost twelve hours since she had last seen Haley at the hospital. Where the hell could she be?

XXX

Haley James Scott was slowly pulled out of unconsciousness. She blinked her eyes a few times to try to adjust to the darkness of the room she was in. Confusion and fear hit her almost immediately. Where was she? The last thing she could remember was being at the cemetery and then seeing Damon. Damon.

Haley started to struggle and became aware of the scratchy rope binding her hands behind her back and binding her legs to the legs of the chair she was tied to. She tried to get her hands free, but the rope was too tight. The more Haley struggled, the more it painfully dug into her wrists. She also had a throbbing headache, most likely from where she had been knocked out.

How long had she been out for? It was hard for her to judge considering there were no clocks or windows to tell her what time of day it was. Before Haley can overthink about it, she hears footsteps. They get closer and closer until Damon stands in front of Haley in the dim light of the room.

"Welcome back sleeping beauty," He says "Took you long enough."

Haley attempted to throw a variety of swear words at him but was met with a rag that was being used to gag her.

He smirks "Nice to see you too. Its been a while,"

He stares at her for a moment before reaching out to strike her across the face. Haley let out a muffled cry of pain.

"You bitch!"He snarls "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? Why couldn't you just stay put? I gave you and your little brat everything you needed. Food, shelter, clothes... You were so greedy and ungrateful though. Couldn't appreciate what you had. You ran away from me. I always told you what would happen if you ran away and I found you. I told you there would be a price for you and that kid to pay."

Damon had always told Haley that if she ever ran or tried to run she would be signing her own death sentence as well as Emma's. It was the primary reason she had been so terrified of him finding them.

Haley knew he planned on killing her. She knew she had a slim chance of making it out of here alive. All she could do was pray that her baby girl was okay. That was all that mattered. Hopefully Peyton and Jake would realize something was wrong when they didn't hear from her. Maybe they would be able to get her help on time. Maybe. She wasn't counting on it though. They would have to give an explanation about her being alive in the first place which would take time. Then they would have to actually find her, which would take time. Time was not something she had. Damon was only going to keep her alive for so long. She had hours left. Maybe a day if she was lucky. All she could do was pray.

Early next morning back at the Lucas and Brookes house Brooke and Peyton sat at the kitchen table drinking their morning cup of coffee. The mood was the lightest it had been in a few days since they had just been informed that Nathan was going to be released from the hospital later that day. .Even though he was going to have to take it easy for a few weeks, his injuries were relatively minor and did not require much care from the hospital.

It had been a whole day since Peyton had heard from Haley and she was starting to get extremely worried that something had happened to her. She had tried Haley's cell phone, but it appeared to have been turned off. Even if she was upset and wanted to be alone, it would be bizarre for Haley to turn her phone off. Especially while Emma was in their care.

Peyton was doing her best to pretend to be calm and happy around Brooke. She was waiting for Jake to return so she could express her concern about not hearing from Haley. Peyton didn't understand what was taking the boys so long to return. Between waiting for them and not hearing from Haley, she was getting more put on edge by the minute.

"You okay?"Brooke asks, not looking up from the sketch that she was working on.

"Uh yeah I'm fine," Peyton replies "Just anxious for them to get back,"

Brooke nods, continuing her sketch.

A little while later little Jenny Jagielski came padding into the kitchen.

"Where's Emma?"Jenny asks.

"Wasn't she in bed with you sweetie?" Brooke asks still working on her sketch.

Jenny shakes her head "I woke up, and she wasn't there anymore."

"Is she in the living room or the bathroom?"Peyton asks.

Again Jenny shakes her head "No I looked."

"Well, I'm sure she's around here somewhere honey," Brooke sayings smiling at Jenny.

"C'mon I'll help you look," Peyton says taking Jenny's hand and walking towards the living room. Sure enough, Emma was not in there nor was she in the bathroom. The house was pretty small Peyton was not sure where else the little girl could be. She ventured into Brooke and Lucas's room. Just like everywhere else in the house Emma was not there. Her stomach did drop though when she noticed that the door that leads outside was open.