Guys...I've received 50 Favorites and 100 Alerts for this story. Holy Friggin' Cow!!! I can't express in words how thankful I am to have such a great group of readers. Really, I think I've got the best bunch on FanFic. I love you all. So to anyone who favorites, alerts, or reviews the story...just know that I write because of you guys. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Anyway...sorry for the wait but...I'm going out of town and I'm not going to have internet connection :( So, I figured I'd wait until the last minute to update cause I know I'm not going to be able to update until Sunday, at least. I will have my computer (yes I'm going to write), but I just wanted to let you all know where I stand. This is just a little bit of an extra apology, but hey...SPRING BREAK HERE I COME!!!!

* This chapter is going to kinda jump around so it might seem sporadic. I promise though, there is a method to my madness. ;)

Disclaimer- If I owed OTH, I'd be very rich and probably wouldn't write FanFic. But...I don't.

Chapter 12- Can't Stay Gone for Long

***

Monday, May 19, 2021

Haley woke up bright and early. She turned over in bed and glanced out the window to see small whitecaps fold into one another as the tide came rolling in. Reaching for her phone, Haley read the tiny numbers and sighed seeing as it was only 7:30am. Figuring there was no way to go back to sleep, Haley rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of jogging shorts and laced up her tennis shoes.

As she quietly stepped off the last stair, Haley looked towards Nathan's room and sighed. His door was shut so she assumed he was still sleeping. Not wanting to bother him, she tiptoed through the great room and headed out the back door.

Breathing in the crisp morning air, Haley smiled and looked from left to right. She wondered which way she should go. Did she want to walk with or against the wind? Rubbing her hands together, she decided to go to the right.

The light brown sand was littered with shells and she found herself immersed in the task of picking up the most unique ones. She didn't know how long she had been walking or how far she'd gone when she heard a familiar voice. Looking up from her crouch, Haley saw Nathan jogging in her direction. He slowed down as he got closer.

"Haley?"

"Nathan? I...I thought you were asleep."

He exhaled deeply and shook his head. "Nah. I couldn't resist a run."

Haley smiled as her eyes surveyed his body. His white t-shirt had turned transparent and Haley could see the thick muscles of his chest and shoulders. She kind of wished he'd been without a shirt at all.

"How far did you go?" She smirked looking at his forehead that had beads of sweet rolling down the smooth skin.

"I don't know." Nathan looked behind him and shrugged his shoulders. "About three miles?"

"Wow."

Unscrewing the bottle of water he had in his hand, Nathan took a sip and smiled. "I'm used to it. When I was in my prime, I could go about seven or eight."

His prime? Haley was looking at the man that stood before her and raised her eyebrows. He looked pretty good and she couldn't imagine it getting any better.

"I was heading back..." Nathan looked in the direction of the house and then back to her. "But, if you want some company I'll stay?"

"I'm just piddling." Haley smiled and opened one of her palms. "I've found some nice shells."

"Those are nice." He leaned down and eyed the small shells in her hand.

She sighed and looked to the ground wanting him to stay with her. "You know...I think four eyes might be better than two."

"Yeah?" Nathan smiled at her informal invitation to join her.

Haley nodded. "Yeah."

They walked step for step with one another all the while talking about their lives and picking up shells. Haley asked him about the NBA, and he wanted to know how being a college professor was. There was no talk of Jamie, or Peter, it was just two friends catching up. When the house was in sight, Nathan laughed and bent down.

"Look at this." He picked up a small white object and then Nathan walked to Haley who was a few steps in front of him and smiled. "You know what this is?"

"It's a sand dollar." Haley picked up the tiny round thing from his palm.

"But you know what this means, right?" Nathan raised an eyebrow with a quick grin.

Haley shook her head. "Is there something special about sand dollars?"

He sighed with a smile. "I'm not sure if it's true, but I was told that these things bring you good luck."

Haley smirked and shifted her weight to one side. "Good luck, huh?"

"Yep."

"Well, you found it. You're the lucky one."

Nathan shook his head. "Nope. It's yours."

"But I didn't find it, it's not gonna work." Haley rolled her eyes and stuck out her hand. "You take it."

Nathan smiled because she had no idea just how lucky he had already become. There he was, walking on the beach with Haley James, the girl he let get away. As much as he had thought about her over the years, there was no way that a week ago he'd have believed he would be with her today.

"Come on Nathan, it's yours."

He brushed by with a smile and as he passed her, he whispered into her ear with his cheek touching her head. "Consider it a gift."

Haley watched him hike up the hill and smiled as he stood waiting on her at the top step. He waved with his hand and she rolled her eyes. As she walked back towards the house, Haley opened her hand and stared at the tiny sand dollar. Luck, it wasn't something that Haley ever felt that she had much of, but maybe her affairs were changing? Maybe being in Tree Hill was the start of something great? She liked that idea, but reality dawned on her when she remembered she had to go home later in the day.

***

Jamie walked into Jeff's study with his thick History textbook and notebooks. He plopped them down on the desk and sighed. Studying was, to be frank, a bitch. Jamie was naturally smart and if he payed attention in class, he pretty much understood the material. But, he had promised Jeff that he'd study with him.

"So, you ready for this exam?" Jeff pushed his reading glassed up the bridge of his nose and smiled as he took a seat behind the old desk.

"I hope so." Jamie shrugged and sat in one of the brown leather chairs across from the desk. "I guess we'll find out."

Jeff nodded and opened the text. "What chapters does the exam cover?"

"Uh..." Jamie looked up trying to think. "It's...I don't know the chapters, but it's Nixon through Reagan."

Skimming through the table of contents, Jeff smiled. "It's 24 through 27." He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "You're sure it's not cumulative?"

"Nope, just those four chapters." Jamie sat back and the leather crunched behind his back.

"What I'm going to do is call out the significant events, treaties, laws...all that stuff and you write down what it is. After you're done writing, explain it to me."

Jamie laughed. "I feel like I'm in class."

"Trust me," Jeff said with a wide smile. "When I'm done with you, you're going to know every bold and italicized word in these chapters."

Jamie sighed and rubbed his hands together. "Sounds like a plan."

It was mid morning, about 10:00am and Jamie knew that they had a long day ahead of them. As he ran through Watergate, Vietcong, Panama Canal Treaties, and other terms like Reaganomics, Jamie only had one thing on his mind though. He was wondering what Nathan and Haley were doing. He wondered if Haley had left for Davidson, and he also thought about the next time he'd be back in Tree Hill.

***

Haley was driving on Highway 74 wishing she was back in Tree Hill. Haley didn't really want to go home, back to Davidson. She didn't really want to talk to Peter. She wished that she was back at the beach house, his beach house, Nathan's beach house where she was finally felling like herself again. But, that wasn't where she was. With less than half an hour to go, Haley felt nerves in the pit of her stomach the closer she got to Davidson. School she could handle, but Peter, he was a totally different story.

When she pulled her car into the driveway, she was relieved to see that Peter's car wasn't around. At least she had time to figure out what she was going to tell him, how she was going to tell him that she had met her son, that she had seen Nathan.

Haley slipped into the house and sighed. It was clean, smelled fresh, and she dropped her jaw when she saw the massive bouquet of flowers on the coffee table. A dozen yellow roses stood in a tall vase, there was also a card on the table.

"Wha...?" Haley set her bags down and walked past the couch. She lifted the card and read the personalized note.

Haley-

I'm sorry I was such an ass. I don't know what I was thinking. Overreacting doesn't even come close in describing the way I behaved, and I'm sorry if I upset you. You deserve so much better than that. Just know that I love you, I always have.

Peter

Haley sighed as she leaned down to smell the flowers. Peter always knew what to do when she was upset, but for some reason, she didn't feel anything this time, she was just numb.

She took the card and grabbed her bag and went into the bedroom. After she unpacked, Haley headed for the laundry room when she heard the front door open.

"Haley?"

She set the basket of dirty clothes on the ground when they made eye contact. He smiled at looked past her to the table where the card once was.

"I...did you get the card? I know it's cliché and dumb, but I just want you to know..." He walked closer to her and smiled. "I'm sorry." Peter kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you're home."

Haley faked a smile. "Me too."

"Why don't you sit down? We can talk." Peter nodded at the couch and Haley followed him. They sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds and then Peter sighed. "So...how was Tree Hill? Did you see Lucas and Peyton, the kids?" He was just trying to be polite.

"They're fine, everybody's fine." She placed her hands on top of her thighs and avoided looking at Peter directly. "Peter, I..."

"What ever I did..." He was basically pleading. He had no idea that what she was dealing with, he was the last thing on her mind.

"No...it's not you." Haley ran her hands across her face. "While I was home...I met someone."

Bad choice of words on Haley's part, because Peter thought she was talking about another man.

"Wha...what do you mean?" Peter shook his head. "You met someone?"

Haley smiled at his reaction. "No, not like that." She shook her head and sighed heavily. "When I came home last Friday, I had gotten a call from Lucas. He told me...Lucas called me to tell me that...." Haley put her hand under her chin. "He called to tell me that he found...that my son was in Tree Hill."

The expression on Peter's face suddenly changed from jealousy and anger to shock. "Really..?" Peter now realized why Haley had to leave him that night. "He was the reason you left? You wanted to go see him?"

Haley nodded and the thought of Jamie, the thought of being away from him brought tears to her eyes. "Yeah."

Peter smiled but recognized her emotion. "Hey...this is a good thing." He reached for her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

She raised her shoulders and wiped her eyes. "I was scared."

He shook his head. "Why? Don't you know that I'm here for you?" Peter placed his hand on hers. "We could have gone together."

Haley closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "I...I just wanted to go alone."

"Haley, you should have had someone, someone should have been there for you." Peter was genuinely concerned.

"That's the thing..." Haley tried to smile but sighed when he looked up to her. "I wasn't by myself."

He nodded. "I know. You had Lucas and Peyton, Brooke too. I'm sure your friends were there."

Haley put her hand on her cheek. "Yes, but they weren't there when I met Jamie."

Peter sat back with a confused expression. "Who was with...?"

"It was..." Haley shook her head. "Nathan was there. We met Jamie together."

"Nathan?" Peter raised his eyebrows. "He was there?"

"Jamie is his son too." Her tone was defensive and Peter widened his eyes. "It...it was...inevitable that we'd see each other again."

Peter didn't say anything for a moment. His eyes focused on his lap and then he looked to Haley. "Well...I'm glad that you saw him...that both of you met your son."

Haley looked up a little confused. She was expecting him to be angry, jealous, anything but calm. "You're...you're happy?"

He smiled and flashed his sincere green eyes. "Of course I'm happy for you, Haley." Peter took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm really happy for you."

She sat with a curious grin. "Oh.."

"This is a good thing." Peter kissed her softly and got up from the couch. "How about I make us some dinner? That four hour drive probably has you beat."

"Yeah, okay." She nodded and watched him vanish into the kitchen.

Haley brought her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. She wished that Peter wasn't being so kind. It was hard for her to think about Nathan with that Saint-like man a few feet away. She had almost preferred Peter to get angry and for them to fight, at least it would have given her a reason to leave. But not Peter, he was being the stand up kind of guy he always was. Haley had suddenly wished she hadn't refused the sand dollar from Nathan that morning. She was in some dire need of luck right now. Her heart and head were throbbing in two very different ways and it seemed like she was going to have to make an impossible decision soon.

***

Tuesday, May 20, 2021

Jamie had just gone up to his room after a delicious meal. Kathy made the best chicken pot pie and he was stuffed. Jamie was lying on his bed when he heard Rick Jame's "Super Freak" blare from his cell phone. He knew it was Michael and laughed.

"Hey man." Jamie fell back into his pillows and sighed.

"Good news. Mom said that it's fine if we go back to the beach on Friday."

"Great!"

"Hold on, there's a catch."

Jamie raised hie eyebrows. "I don't like the sound of that."

The was a slight pause and then Michael spoke. "My mom said she wants to go down again."

"That's alright. I can handle your mom."

Michael laughed, "No, that's not the catch...Mom wants to invite Jeff and Kathy."

"What? They didn't say anything about it during..." Before he could finish, Jamie heard the house phone ring. He got up from his bed and stood in his doorway listening to Kathy talk.

"Hi Patricia. I'm fine, and you? Good. Uh huh. This weekend? How long...? Until Tuesday. I'll have to see if Jeff can take off work, but I'm flattered that you're offering. Will you hold on a sec?"

Jamie peeked down the stairs and saw Kathy walk into Jeff's study. He heard her laugh and then she hurried back to the kitchen.

"Patricia? I'm happy to say that Jeff has a wealth of vacation days and he said he'd love to go to the beach. I know, it's great. Yeah, yeah...we'll talk later in the week. I'm going to tell Jamie the good news. Alright, thanks again, bye."

Jamie dashed back into his room and jumped on his bed. He explained to Michael what was happening and hung up just in time.

"Jamie?" Kathy knocked on the boy's door.

"Come in."

She was smiling wide and leaned into the door frame. "I just got off the phone with Patricia Bell, and she wants us all to go to the beach this weekend. Isn't that great?"

Jamie nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm excited and so is Jeff. It's about time we took a family vacation together."

"Yeah...it's been a while."

Seeing Jamie reaching for an Anatomy book, Kathy smiled. "I'll leave you to your studying. Night Jamie."

"Goodnight Kathy."

When his door shut, Jamie smothered a pillow over his face. The last two people he wanted in Wrightsville Beach were his Foster parents. It wasn't because he didn't care for them, but he was going to have to be extra sneaky when it came to the whole Nathan and Haley situation.

"Shit."

Jamie lifted the pillow from his face and sighed. He grabbed his cell phone and scrolled though his contacts, he was going to have to call Nathan and Haley. Jamie had promised to call and tell them when he'd be back in Tree Hill, and as of right now, it seemed like Friday was when they'd all meet again.

***

Nathan was over at Lucas' house when he got the call. They had all finished dinner and were playing a game of Trivial Pursuit Junior. The team of Lucas and Harper was smoking everyone and thankfully Nathan's phone rang when it wasn't his and Keith's turn.

After a short conversation Nathan returned to the game beaming with happiness. Peyton could tell that something was up and laughed.

"What'd you do, win the lottery?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Nope. It was Jamie. He's coming back this Friday."

"Nate, that's great!" Lucas smiled at his brother.

"I wonder if he called Haley? Peyton looked up from her seat on the floor.

"He's calling her now." Nathan sat back down next to Keith and sighed. "I'm glad I know, the not knowing was killing me."

Lucas smirked. "Comes with the territory of being a parent. You'll always be worried about..."

"You don't worry about me, do you Daddy?" Harper looked up with raised eyebrows.

"Nope." Lucas laughed and pointed to Sawyer and Keith. "I worry about those two knuckle heads." Both kids grunted but then Lucas looked down to the youngest Scott. "Truth is...I worry about all of you. Cause I love you so much." Lucas widened his eyes and turned into the Kissing Monster. He growled and placed kisses all over the top of Harper's head.

Everyone laughed and after Lucas was through, he turned to Nathan with a coy grin. "You ready for..." He lowered his voice like Frankenstein. "The Kissing Monster?"

Nathan laughed, "Nah, I'll pass."

Lucas shook his head with a smirk. "Your loss little brother."

Sawyer grabbed the die and cleared her throat. "Alright. It me and and Mom's turn."

Nathan sat back and watched the team work out their question, but his mind wandered to the thoughts of Jamie and seeing him on Friday though. He was really happy that his son was coming back in just three short days. He was also happy because that meant that Haley would come back to Tree Hill. Sure, he was ecstatic to see his son, but Haley...she made him nervous and calm at the same time. He took a deep breath and smiled knowing that all would be well in 72 hours.

***

Haley was typing away on her side of the bed when her phone started to vibrate. She slid her glasses up the bridge of her nose and sighed as she leaned over. Her heart fluttered alive when she saw that it was a 919 area code. Haley knew it was Jamie.

After a short conversation Haley hung up the phone and smiled happily as she put the phone back on the nightstand. Peter walked in from the bathroom freshly showered and slid into bed.

"Who were you talking to?" He laid on his right side to face her.

"It was...Jamie called."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "What...what'd he have to say?"

"That he's going to be back in Tree Hill on Friday." Haley smiled and took a deep breath. "I've got to go back."

"I wanna come with you...can I come with you, Haley?" Peter was really making an effort. He wanted her to know that he was on her side no matter what. "Friday, what's the date?"

"Uh...it's the twenty third." Peter rolled over and sighed. Haley could tell that he was upset so she asked him what was wrong. "Do you have something...?"

"I've got that conference convention thing in DC. I'll be gone the whole weekend."

Haley let out a relieved sigh. "Really?"

"But I can cancel. I want to go with you." Peter propped his head up with his elbow.

She shook her head with a slight smile. "No. no. You should go. I'll be alright."

"Are you sure, I don't mind."

Haley sighed. "Really, I'll be fine."

"How about this?" Peter smiled playfully and stared up to her eyes. "I'll go down there Monday. That'll give you some time alone with him, and then after you're ready...I'll meet him?" He raised his shoulders anticipating her answer. "What do you think?"

"Uh...I think that it's...." Haley looked down and grinned. He looked so cute and happy there was no way she could say no. "I think it's fine."

"It's done." Peter rolled to his back and exhaled slowly. "I'm going to Tree Hill."

Haley sighed and closed her laptop. She yawned and reached for the light. When the room went black, she could feel Peter inch closer to her.

"Haley, when do you think you'll go back?"

She laid there in the dark and thought for a moment. "Well...my last exam is over at 10:00am tomorrow. If I can grade them and send them to the Registrar, I'd like to go back as soon as possible."

"So, you're going to try and go back tomorrow?" When she said yes, Peter wondered where she'd stay. "Do you think you should call Lucas, tell him you're coming?"

"Lucas?"

Peter laughed. "Yeah, won't you stay with him?"

Haley looked up to the dark ceiling and sighed. She hadn't really thought about it. All she wanted was to get back home, back to Tree Hill, and perhaps back to Nathan.

"Haley?"

She blinked her eyes back and forth. "Yeah, yeah. I'll call him in the morning."

"Okay." Peter leaned across her chest and kissed her.

As much as she didn't want to, Haley kissed him back. Peter did hold a spot in her heart, but it overwhelmingly belonged to another, she just never knew how much, not until the last couple of days. Her brain was fixed on Peter, but her heart was always and would forever be with Nathan.

"Goodnight, Haley."

She closed her eyes and smiled knowing she was going or she would try at get home the next day. "Goodnight, Peter."

***

Wednesday, May 21, 2021

Haley had been in her office since the last kid turned in his exam. Unfortunately for her, English wasn't a subject that would suffice with a simple scantron. Her final exam was an essay and she only had two left to grade. The clock pushed past 2:30pm and she could feel the fatigue of her eyes with the pounding of her head.

"Frank Townes," Haley turned to the first page and smiled. "B plus. Not too bad." She picked up the last essay and smiled. "Emily Chase, let's see what you've got."

Haley had her red pen ready in her right hand. After reading and re-reading the essay, Haley was finished and circled the grade on the first page. Now all she had to do was record them in the computer and she'd be done. She finished everything and wiped her hands clean of another successful semester just before 4:30pm. Haley locked up her office and left with a weight lifted from her shoulders. Now she didn't have anything to worry about, not about school anyway.

Haley packed a bag and grabbed a Nutri-Grain bar. She hadn't eaten all day, but that wouldn't deter her from her goal; she wanted to be gone before 5:00pm.

When she got into the car she called Peter and Lucas. Peter didn't answer, but she left him a message telling him she was leaving, and she guessed she'd see him on Monday. Lucas had also joined the 'Don't Answer Your Phone Club.' She really wanted to tell him her plans, because they had changed from the one she told him that morning. Oh, well he'd figure it out.

When she pulled onto highway 74, Haley was going to count down the near two hundred miles until she'd see that familiar green bridge.

***

Nathan had grilled some grouper, asparagus, and had baked a potato for dinner that evening. It almost looked like restaurant quality except for the char marks on both the fish and vegetables. It was good though, Nathan enjoyed cooking. After he cleaned the kitchen, Nathan turned off the TV and sat in the over sized chair by the window. He had his drink already poured and in his right hand while a book was in the other.

Playing professional basketball had opened his mind to the ever enchanting world of fiction, biography, and anything else that he could pass the time with. He used to read at night when he was on road trips and the habit was ingrained in his daily routines now.

Nathan looked at the front cover of The Boys of Summer and he smiled. There was nothing that he loved more than a heroic sports book. He especially loved the ones that were based on real people or teams. And this one, even though it wasn't about basketball, he loved the book that best represents America's past time, baseball.

After twenty or so minutes, Nathan went to take a sip of his drink but all there was was ice. He marked his place in the book and got up to pour himself another drink. Nathan wasn't an alcoholic by any means, he just liked his scotch. Two or three tumblers a night wasn't going to kill him.

He got to the bar and sighed. "Damn." Nathan picked up the empty bottle and shook his head. He never finished a bottle without having another one on hand.

Nathan grabbed his keys and wallet. The closest package store was just a few minutes down the road. He hoped it was open, but it was only 9:30pm, so he figured he'd be alright. He pushed his wallet into his pocket and twirled his keys on his index finger. As he opened the door he blinked a couple times not expecting the person he saw.

She was standing there, ready to knock, a bag hung off her shoulder, and she smiled cautiously. She lowered her hand to her waist and took a deep breath. There she was, Haley was standing at Nathan's front door. He didn't know what to do, or what to say.

Haley had a thousand thoughts race through her mind as each silent second passed. She had originally planned on staying with Lucas, but she thought that she'd be happier at Nathan's. He did have a bunch of extra rooms after all. She looked into his baby blues and smiled. She was ready for what was thrown her way no matter what. As long as she and Nathan were together, nothing else mattered.

Nathan leaned into the door still silent. He couldn't believe she was standing there, at his door. It was an image he felt burn into his mind. He could remember that summer night after their Junior year when Haley came back from the tour. Just like tonight, there was no conversation, no exchange of words. There was just a single greeting.

"Hi."

***

So...Haley is back in Tree Hill AND she is at Nathan's!!! 3 Cheers for Haley.

We know that Jeff and Kathy and Jamie are all going to be at the beach this weekend. Wonder what kind of conflicts/drama that will cause??? Should there be drama? Of course there will be drama ;)

And...Peter. I know a lot of you don't like him, but he's kind of important. Don't worry though, he won't show up in another chapter for a while. BUT He will be back, sorry. Don't hate me.

The Brulian and Leyton clans will come back next chapter. Yay for secondary characters if you like them ;)

If anyone remembers, Jamie's birthday is May, 22....that means it's Thursday. How will Naley react and deal with it???

Like I said above, I'm not going to have internet connection until next week, so...I can't update. BUT I am going to write!!! It would be of great help and morale if you would leave your thoughts in a review!!!

So, please leave some love, hate...I don't care. Just tell me what you think. I really appreciate all your responses.