So my updates have clearly been sporadic lately, and I apologize. Everyone's cramming stuff in before spring break begins, which is the end of this week. I appreciate all of your reviews so much, and some of these recent ones left me feeling so inspired! So thank you. I've still been trying to figure out where I want to go with some things, but I'm finally making some decisions. This chapter's got some sexual stuff, but in my personal opinion it's not that bad. It's no worse than what's been in the previous chapters. However, if you think it is just go ahead and skip it. It won't hurt. By the way, don't ever feel bad about leaving me long reviews, lol. They're usually my favorites! I feel like I'm forgetting something, but anyways...I hope you like this chapter! Tomorrow will be incredibly busy, but Thursday or Friday should be good for an update. Then I'll have way more free time since my poor ass can't afford to go anywhere for spring break. Enjoy & review!

Haley held onto her mother's hand and returned the smile she was receiving. It had been almost twenty-four hours since she'd been informed that her mom was awake. And almost all of her father's time had been spent in her room with her. Haley's siblings had all taken turns, and for the most part Lydia was asleep during their visits. Now, though, she was awake and claimed to be feeling much better than the previous night. Haley felt so much lighter knowing that her mom was okay…that she was going to be okay. They'd finally gotten Jimmy to start eating and sleeping again, too. He was napping in a chair in the corner of the room as Haley sat with her mom.

"I love you, Mom," Haley whispered, bringing her mother's hand up to kiss it. She was still crying, but they were mostly tears of stress and relief.

Lydia gave her daughter another weak smile and lifted her hand to brush Haley's bangs out of her eyes. "I love you, too, Haley."

"I thought I was going to lose you," Haley continued, closing her eyes. "I was so scared."

"Oh, honey…it takes a lot more than a drunk driver to bring Lydia James down. You should know that by now."

Haley laughed and shook her head. "You're crazy, Mom. Seriously, though, how are you feeling?"

Lydia closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Better now, baby. I'm going to be just fine. You need to get back to school though. You must be missing a ton of classes."

"It doesn't matter," Haley replied. "I'm not leaving until you're out of here. I have to make sure you're safe."

"Sweetie, your daddy is doing a fine job of that," Lydia replied, opening her eyes again. "School is important."

"Not as important as you."

Lydia was quiet for a few seconds before she smiled again. "So Nathan came, huh?" She watched her daughter blush, and her smile widened. "How's that going?"

Haley smiled as soon as she heard Nathan's name. "It's…amazing, Mom. I love him so much. And everything with him is so real and raw and…just amazing."

"Love?" Lydia questioned, both her eyebrows rising. "My baby girl…I never thought I'd see the day."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, neither did I. He's so amazing though." She paused and averted her eyes for a moment before continuing in a whisper. "He…he asked me to marry him."

Lydia nodded slowly. "When did he do it?"

Shrugging, Haley replied, "A little over a month ago."

"Why'd you say no?" her mother asked, glancing down at her daughter's naked left ring finger.

Haley took a deep breath. "I don't know. A lot of reasons, I guess. I mean, at that point we'd only been together for six weeks, and it was just so sudden." She shook her head. "The scariest part of the whole thing was just knowing how serious he was. I know he meant it, and I know he wants to spend the rest of his life with me."

"And you don't want the same?"

"I do," Haley answered with a short nod. "I do. I'm not sure I knew that then, but I know it now. I'm still…not ready to be anyone's wife, but I do want to be with him."

Lydia shook her head. "Baby, I know how serious that boy is about you. Don't be worried about trusting him. Your father and I aren't."

Haley furrowed her brow and met her mother's eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Chuckling weakly, Lydia responded, "Honey, there's a reason I didn't look surprised when you told me he proposed to you." She gave her daughter a pointed look.

Haley's eyes widened. "You knew?" she questioned incredulously.

Her mother nodded. "Your father and I both knew. I'll admit that I was expecting an excited call from my daughter about a month ago though." She paused. "He showed up at your sister's house one day when your father and I were babysitting the kids and asked us." She laughed softly. "Your father freaked out, but once we talked through it we gave him our blessing, and he went on his way." Her daughter's mouth hung open in shock. "Does that surprise you?"

"I mean…yeah," Haley admitted. "Did you really think I was going to say yes?"

"After hearing the way that boy talked about you, yes I did," Lydia responded. "Your father did, too."

"Wow," Haley breathed out. "I can't believe he asked you guys' permission. I mean, I know he told Brooke, but I never would have thought in a million years he'd say something to you and Daddy."

Lydia smiled. "People can surprise you sometimes, baby."

"God, I love you," Haley whispered, leaving a hot trail of kisses along Nathan's jaw line. "I love you so much," she repeated a moment later, throwing her head back against her pillow.

Nathan took the opportunity and leaned his head down to her chest, ravishing her breasts with kisses as he continued to move inside of her. He let out a deep groan and then raised his head again so that his lips could meet hers in a passionate kiss.

Haley instantly pushed her tongue past his lips to explore his mouth and increased the steady rhythm of her hips against his, causing him to do the same. When she pulled out of the kiss, she felt his lips on her neck. She was already beginning to feel herself unravel. "Nathan," she moaned loudly.

"You're so perfect," he whispered against her skin before biting it gently. He continued to move with her for several more seconds before he heard her breathing rate increase tremendously.

Haley kept her arms wound around his neck as she tried to control her breathing and hold out for as long as possible. She wanted this to last forever. But a moment later, she buried her head in his neck, partially stifling the scream that she let out as she climaxed intensely.

God, there was nothing sexier than her screaming his name like that. Nathan let out a deep groan, which only increased a second later when he drove into her once again and felt himself fall over the edge. His entire body collapsed on top of her as he breathed heavily.

They lay there together in silence for several minutes, and then Nathan pulled back slightly so he could leave several kisses on her sweaty shoulder. "Haley," he whispered, burying his head in her neck. "You are so fucking sexy, baby."

Haley smiled at his words as she ran both her hands up and down his muscular back slowly. Each time he told her that she was sexy and each time he made love to her, she found herself believing him even more. She knew he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him, and it felt good. It felt incredible, actually. "So are you," she whispered, watching him lift his head so he could look her in the eye.

Nathan placed his lips on hers and kissed her for another several minutes, letting the slow rhythm of their tongues take over the moment.

"Nathan," Haley mumbled, pulling away. "You need to go."

Immediately his eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? I thought-"

"Not what I meant," she interrupted him with a reassuring smile. "What I meant was you need to go back to Duke. I don't want my family's problems to keep you from your life anymore. It's not fair, and I won't do that to you."

He shook his head. "Hales, you're my life. And you're my family, which means that your parents are my family, too. I told you before…I'm not leaving you. As long as you're here, I'll be here."

Haley took a deep breath and slowly smiled. "Good," she whispered, kissing him again. "Because I really need you here. I…I know that my mom is awake now, but if I went back and something else happened while she was still in the hospital, I don't know what I'd do." She sighed quietly. "It's nice having you by my side."

"It's nice to be there," he said with a small smirk. "And by the way, you look so damn sexy screaming my name." His smirk widened.

Haley instantly blushed and brought her hands down to cover her face.

"You look sexy when you do that, too," he continued. "Actually, you know what…you look sexy no matter what you're doing."

"Stop it," Haley said with a laugh, taking her hands off of her face. Her blush had already deepened. "Don't be mean."

"Mean? Oh, Hales…that wasn't mean." Nathan flashed a smile. "But this is." Before she could say anything or move from beneath him, he began tickling her sides mercilessly.

"Nathan! Nathan, stop!" Haley managed to get out through her giggles as she squirmed beneath him.

Nathan chuckled and shook his head as he continued to tickle her. "I'm sorry, Hales, but I can't do that. It's just too good."

Haley tried to stealthily move out from under him, but her attempt was a failed one. "Nathan!" she squealed again through her laughs.

"Alright, alright," he said, stopping. "Say 'I love screaming your name while we have really, really hot sex,' and I'll stop." He smirked.

Her mouth dropped open, and she blushed again, but she let out a small laugh first. "Nathan Scott, I will not say that."

"Alright, you asked for it." He smiled and began tickling her again.

Only a few seconds later, Haley spoke up. "I love screaming your name while we have really, really hot sex," she said loudly, and he immediately stopped tickling her. She watched him smirk at her and smiled, pushing him off of her. Once he was beside her on his back, she climbed onto his body so she was lying on top of him. "Really, really, really hot sex," she whispered into his ear, leaving a wet kiss behind it.

Nathan smirked as his hands found her ass. "Wow, Hales. You added another really. I must be good."

"Yeah, you're something," she teased, pulling away so that she could look at him.

"Great?" he asked with a small pout.

Haley laughed, running her index finger over his bottom lip. "Eh," she answered with a shrug.

"Fantastic?"

"Eh."

"Awesome?"

Haley couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked. "More like…" She tapped her chin and pretended to think. "Phenomenal."

"Phenomenal," Nathan repeated, a small smirk on his face. "I guess that'll do."

"I guess it will," Haley replied before kissing him. She forcefully pushed her tongue between his lips as her hands roamed his body.

Nathan returned the kiss just as feverishly as his hands found her thighs. He pulled her legs up until she was straddling his hips and then rested his hands on her waist.

As Haley was peppering kisses across his naked chest and grinding her lower half into his, they heard a phone ringing.

"Damn it," Nathan mumbled, glancing over to see that it was his cell phone on the nightstand. When Haley started to pull away, he held her tight. "No, don't go. It's probably nothing. Keep going."

Haley smirked and leaned down to place one last kiss on his chest. Then she moved off of him, hugging the sheet close to her body. "Answer your phone," she told him with a pointed look.

"Yes, ma'am," Nathan replied with a fake salute. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he did the same before reaching over to grab his phone. "Hello? … Yeah, what's up? … Wait, are you sure? Positive? … Shit, Luke. … You know what? I can't deal with this right now. I haven't got the time. No, listen…just please try to come up with something, okay? … I'm sorry, man. I'll…I'll be back as soon as I can." Nathan flipped his phone shut and placed it back down on the nightstand.

Haley watched him curiously. "What was that all about? It didn't sound good."

Nathan shook his head and smiled at her. "It was nothing. Now where were we?" He smirked and rolled on top of her, instantly fusing his lips to hers.

Haley's mom wasn't released until almost a week later, and that also meant that Haley and Nathan didn't return to Duke until that time. Although at times Nathan felt like he was making a dumb decision staying away from basketball for so long, more than that he wanted to be there for Haley. And he wanted to be with her. They had spent a month apart not knowing how the other felt, and that was over. He didn't want to waste anymore time. He was going to spend as much time with her as possible, not only because it was what he wanted. It was also what he needed.

Brooke squealed when she saw her best friend enter their dorm room. "Tutor Girl! Oh, my God! How long has it been?" She jumped up from her place on her bed and threw her arms around Haley.

"Just a week, Brooke," Haley replied with a laugh. She dropped her bag by the door and reciprocated Brooke's embrace. "I know what you mean though. I've missed you, Brookie."

"I missed you, too. How the hell am I supposed to do my homework without you over my shoulder telling me the answers?" Brooke joked as she pulled out of their hug.

Haley rolled her eyes and smiled. "Oh, whatever. I don't give answers. I give hints."

Brooke raised an eyebrow but shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say. Where's Boy Toy?"

Haley reached for her bag again and put it on top of her bed, beginning to unpack as she spoke. "Nathan had to go talk to his coach."

"So how was it?" Brooke asked a moment later once she'd been eyeing her best friend for a few seconds.

"How was what?" Haley looked up, confused, as she pulled some more clothes out of her bag.

"The sex."

Haley's eyes widened, and she dropped the clothes in her hands onto the bed. "I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered unconvincingly as she tried to regain her composure.

Brooke rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, don't play dumb with me. How was it?"

Haley bit her lip and closed her eyes. There was no harm in telling Brooke the truth. It's not like she had to tell her about her past or the fact that she and Nathan had already slept together once before or the fact that she couldn't have children. She wasn't ready for Brooke or anyone besides Nathan to know any of those things. But since it was clearly so obvious that she'd had sex with Nathan, she figured there'd be no harm in a little elaboration. "It was…it was…" She struggled to find the right words.

"That good?" Brooke inquired with a smirk.

"Yes, it was that good," Haley replied without hesitation. "I…Brooke, it was amazing." She turned away from the clothes on her bed so she was fully facing her friend. "I can't even begin to tell you how incredible he makes me feel. Without even saying a word to me or touching me at all, he gives me butterflies…the good kind. And I just…I love him." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Brooke squealed again, just like she had when her roommate had entered the room. "I am so happy for you! You totally deserve this, Tutor Girl. Who knew Nathan would be the guy for you, huh?"

Haley shrugged, thinking back to what her mom had told her a few days before. "I guess people can surprise you."

"So does this mean you're rethinking the whole marriage proposal thing?" Brooke asked carefully. She knew it was a tough subject for Haley, one that she probably didn't wish to be talking about right now, but Brooke was curious. And more than that, she knew that Nathan would make Haley happy. It was so clear that they were meant for each other.

"No," Haley answered unsteadily. "I mean…honestly, I have been thinking about it a lot lately, but that doesn't mean I'm ready. That wasn't even that long ago. I just can't see myself being a wife right now. It's a huge thing to think about."

Brooke nodded. "I get that, Hales, I do. But can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"You know that game Nathan and Luke had? The one where Nate sucked the first half, and that woman spilled her soda on you."

Haley furrowed her brow. "It's not ringing any bells."

Brooke let out a quiet sigh. "It was also the night he proposed to you."

Drawing in a breath, Haley nodded, finally remembering the day. To be honest when she thought about that night, all she could see was Nathan's face when she'd told him no. Everything else had faded. "Oh. Yeah, I remember."

"Do you remember before the game when you came to talk to me about Lucas? I had that sketch pad that I wouldn't let you see." She watched her friend's face to see if she was piecing the puzzle together.

"Yeah," Haley said slowly, not really seeing where she was going with the conversation. "What about it?"

Brooke sighed. "I was sketching your wedding gown."

Haley's eyes widened for the second time since her return.

"I told you I knew about the proposal," Brooke added. "And I don't know…I really did think you were going to say yes, Hales. I guess I got a little excited."

"Gosh, Brooke," Haley let out. Then she furrowed her brow. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Brooke shrugged and walked back over to her bed, taking a seat and picking up one of the many fashion magazines sitting on her nightstand. "I just want you to know that when that day comes, I'm your only option." She winked at her best friend from across the room.

"Oh, my gosh! You got it off!" Haley smiled widely and threw her arms around Nathan's neck.

Nathan grinned and nodded as he held her body close to his. "Yup, and it feels so much better without it."

Haley pulled away after a second and let him fully into her dorm room before closing the door. She watched him set their bag of takeout on her desk, and then she approached him, taking his previously casted hand gently in her own. "Wow, it looks good," she commented, running her fingers over his palm and then the back of his hand. She gave him another smile and a quick kiss before beginning to get the food out. "How'd it go with the coach?"

"Oh, it went…it went fine," Nathan replied, helping her with the food.

"Fine?" she questioned. "Just fine? Did he yell at you or anything? Was it horrible?"

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. "No, it was fine. And no, he didn't yell."

"Well, that's good, right?"

Biting his lip, Nathan nodded. "Yup, it's good." He stepped away from the desk and pulled his backpack off of his shoulder. "So I brought all my French stuff. You want to get started while we eat?"

"Sure," Haley responded. They got all their food set up and began eating from the takeout containers as Haley looked over his notes. "So what are you having the most trouble with?"

"Verbs," he answered immediately. "They all look the same to me, and it's really confusing."

Haley gave him a small smile and took a sip of her water. "Lucky for you, your girlfriend's specialty is verbs."

He shook his head and laughed. "I am lucky."

For the most part, they just talked while they ate, and Haley looked over his list of verbs. Once they were done with dinner, she made flash cards for him, and they went over them countless times before she placed the cards behind her back. "What are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"You've gotten them all right with the cards twice now," Haley answered. "Now we're going to see if you really know them. I'll read you the word in French, and you tell me what it means in English, okay?"

"I've got this," Nathan replied with a smirk. "Bring it, shorty."

Haley's mouth dropped open. "I thought you wanted my help, mister."

Nathan laughed. "You know I love your height, Hales. It's very sexy."

She rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss him once before pulling back. "Okay. First one…aller."

Nathan scoffed. "Easy…to go."

"Acheter."

"To buy."

"Boire."

"To drink."

"Avoir."

"To have."

"Alright, smart ass…croire."

Nathan furrowed his brow. "That wasn't on the list, Hales."

"I know," she challenged with an eyebrow raised.

Nathan smirked and leaned over his textbook, slowly pushing his lips to hers. "To kiss."

"No," Haley answered with a laugh.

"Oh," he replied dejectedly. "Well it doesn't matter. I know all the ones on the list," he said smugly.

"Oh, really?"

He nodded.

"How about the other list?" Haley questioned. She watched him furrow his brow, and then she smirked, holding up another list of verbs.

Nathan audibly groaned. "We already did like twenty. How am I supposed to remember seven hundred different verbs?"

"It's hardly seven hundred," Haley replied. "Okay, I'll tell you what. How about we make it interesting this time?"

With a raised eyebrow, Nathan leaned towards her. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Haley smiled at him. "For every one you get right, I'll take a piece of clothing off."

"Strip studying? Hales, you really are a nerd."

She shrugged and began closing his textbook. "Okay. I guess if you don't want to-"

"No," he interrupted her. "I want to. I'm ready."

Haley laughed and stood up from the bed. She watched Nathan move so his feet were on the floor; he was sitting on the very edge of the bed. She smirked at him and moved directly in front of him. "Okay. Number one…dire."

"To say," Nathan replied cockily, eyeing her body.

Haley caressed his cheek for a moment. "Good job, baby." She reached down and pulled off one of her socks.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Of course, this is the one time I come over and you still have your socks on."

"Appeler," she said next.

"To call." Nathan watched her remove the other sock and smirked at the fact that the next piece of clothing she removed would have to actually start showing some real skin.

Haley thought for a moment. "Connaitre."

"Um…to know?" Nathan guessed, smiling when he saw that he was right. Haley was reaching for the hem of her shirt, and once it had cleared her head his eyes focused on the deliciously flat stomach in front of him. He reached a hand out, but she backed away.

"No touching," she reminded him softly. "Next…pleuvoir."

"To rain."

Haley slowly undid the button on her jeans and then the zipper. She pushed the material down her legs and watched Nathan's eyes move with them. Once they were around her ankles, she kicked them away and moved so she was right in front of him again. "Okay…conduire."

Nathan's eyes were so focused on her body that he was surprised he'd even heard her at all. He was not thinking about French anymore. Here was his incredibly sexy girlfriend standing before him in nothing more than a bra and a pair of lacy white panties, and he was supposed to be studying French. His focus was gone; it had flown out the window along with her clothes. "Um…" His eyes ran up her legs until they rested on her underwear. "Uh…"

Haley smirked even though she knew Nathan couldn't see her face. She brought her hands up to the front clasp of her bra and began undoing it. "Come on, Nathan," she whispered. She wanted him to get it right just as much as he did.

"I, um…" Nathan's eyes moved to her hands which were unfastening the clasp of her bra. Now it was open, and all she had to do was pull away the cups, and he'd see her beautiful body. "Um…I don't…I don't know. I can't think of it," he stuttered.

"You know this," she said reassuringly.

He thought for several more seconds, but the answer wasn't coming to him. The only change occurring in his body right now was in his pants, and it was a very noticeable one. "Hales, I don't know," he repeated, looking up to her eyes.

Haley sighed softly and refastened her bra.

"No, no, no," he objected, quickly standing up. "Don't do that."

"You didn't get it right," she reminded him.

"So?" he squeaked out, his eyes still roaming her body. They, again, refocused on her face after a moment or two.

Haley raised a hand to caress his cheek as she pushed her body against his. Her other hand trailed down his chest and over his belt buckle until she reached the extremely large bulge in his pants. She cupped it, quirking an eyebrow at him. "You seem a little excited, Nathan," she whispered. "I didn't know studying was such a turn on for you."

"Neither did I," he muttered with a smirk.

Haley flashed a smile as her hand began to stroke his erection through his jeans. "I guess we'll have to do this more often," she suggested in a breathy whisper.

Continuing to smirk, Nathan nodded as he let out a deep groan. "Hell yeah."

Haley moved both her hands to the hem of his t-shirt and pulled the garment over his head, tossing it into the pile which held her already discarded clothes. She wasted no time in moving her hands to his belt buckle, and once it was undone she pushed his pants down hastily.

Nathan stepped out of his jeans and brought his hands to the clasp on her bra, undoing it without any resistance from his girlfriend. Instead she closed her eyes as he removed the bra and then placed both his hands over her breasts. It felt so good to touch her without his cast as a hindrance.

Haley felt herself being pulled toward the bed, and she watched as Nathan pulled away so he could sweep all of his homework off of her bed. She raised an eyebrow, and he flashed a sheepish smile. "I'm failing anyways," he excused with a shrug. He pushed her down onto the mattress, allowing his body to hover over hers as he captured her lips in a heated kiss.

Pushing his boxers down, Haley cautiously rolled them over so that she was on top of him. She finished removing his boxers before pushing her own underwear off of her legs as she straddled him. She bent down and kissed him passionately for long minutes until air became an issue. Then she sat back on her knees and placed her hands on his chest, gently lowering herself onto his throbbing cock.

Nathan hadn't been expecting that, and the loud shout of his partner's name proved it. His hands moved to her hips to help guide her movements, but in all honesty she needed no help at all. Nathan's eyes stayed glued to her body as she eased off of him slowly before pushing back down. Her movements remained slow for only a few seconds before he began thrusting his hips up into her, causing her to speed up.

Haley's eyes were closed; there was no way she could keep them open this time, not with the intense pleasure she was feeling at having Nathan's hardness pulsing inside of her. The pressure of her hands on his chest increased as she leaned forward a bit in order to speed up her movements.

"Fuck," Nathan mumbled as he watched her. He didn't even care that her eyes were closed as long as his were open so he could see her. He sat up a bit causing her hands to fall from his chest, and he began to ravage her breasts with his lips.

Haley continued to bounce on him, and when she couldn't take it anymore she lifted Nathan's head with her hands so she could kiss him. She roughly pushed her tongue into his mouth as she felt herself being pulled closer to her orgasm.

Nathan let out a deep grunt as he felt himself go deeper inside of her, and he tore his lips away from hers. "Goddamn it, Hales," he muttered into her neck. "You look so fucking sexy right now."

Instead of answering him verbally, Haley kissed him again, this time longer and deeper. She continued to move on him for a few more seconds, her pace even quicker now, until she felt herself being drawn closer to the edge. "Nathan," she whispered into his shoulder. "I'm so close."

Nathan began thrusting up again, and as if on cue he watched Haley's orgasm take over her every sense. She shuddered above him and cried out his name, and it took nothing more for him to come as well. Everything he had spilled into her as his back hit the mattress, his lover's body collapsing on his chest.

Haley's hands rubbed up and down his sides as they lay together, and after a moment she lifted her head to place a few soft kisses on his sweaty chest. "I love you," she whispered, now looking into his eyes.

"I love you, too," he replied, wrapping his arms around her petite frame. He watched her move so that her head was resting sideways on his chest, and he stared at the ceiling as he let out a large and silent breath. God, that had been amazing. He loved her so much, and now more than ever he knew he couldn't let go of that. He needed her.

Everything else in Nathan's life was falling apart. Everything that had meant anything to him since he was a child was leaving him, and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should even be upset about it because now he had Haley, and she was even more amazing than any of the rest of it. But he still couldn't help but feel like he was losing a huge part of himself. He tightened his hold on his girlfriend and listened as her breathing evened out. He left a lingering kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

He couldn't tell Haley yet. Everything with her mom was still so fresh, and mentioning it while they were blissfully in bed together would just ruin the moment. She would find out anyways. He promised himself that he'd tell her in the morning. He just didn't want her to feel guilty somehow because it was Nathan who had made the decisions. It was Nathan that had had to finally pick a life. And it wasn't her fault. Admittedly, he was also a little embarrassed. He was supposed to be a man…a strong, confident man that Haley could always count on. And losing one of the most important things to him like he just had, it wasn't an option for men. He felt ashamed for even feeling embarrassed. It was all one big roller coaster of emotions.

But as he lay there with Haley in his arms, the rest of it seemed to fade away. She was the only one that mattered to him anymore, and he was going to be strong for her. He would make it; there wasn't a doubt in his mind. He needed to stop focusing on what was now the past and start focusing on his relationship with Haley. He wanted to help her get through everything. He knew she was still hurting and worried about her parents' accident, and he would be there for her. They had yet to completely discuss the fact that she couldn't have children. It was obvious how much that was tearing her up on the inside, but he would be there for her.

As he lay there, still unable to fall asleep, he found himself comparing the old Nathan and the new Nathan. A few months ago, if someone would have told him he'd be hopelessly in love with the girl of his dreams and without the one thing that had always meant the most to him, he probably would have clocked them. Because Nathan Scott didn't do love. He didn't do family and compassion and apologies. And he sure as hell wouldn't have sacrificed his career for any woman.

But he was different now. It had always been clear to him, but it was even more so now. Nathan Scott did love, and he did it with Haley James. He would never love anyone else, and he didn't need a map of his future to know that. He just did. When he looked down at the beautiful, sleeping girl in his arms he knew it, without a doubt. Haley had his heart, and he was never giving it to anyone else. No one else understood him like Haley did; he didn't want them to. That would only make what he and Haley shared seem less important and rare, and those were two things it would always be.

Nathan rolled over slowly so that Haley was on her back. She really didn't look comfortable at all resting on top of him the way that she had been. He covered them both with the duvet and then placed an arm securely around her. He found himself resting his hand on her stomach, and he let out a short sigh. They were only in college, but he wanted to have babies with her. He wanted Haley to be the mother of his children. And when she had told him about wanting a son with his eyes and daughter he could spoil, it had broken his heart. Because just like Haley, he now knew that they would never have either. He didn't blame Haley; he didn't blame anybody. But he still wished he could change it, for himself and for her. He knew how much she wanted to be a mother, how much she craved that biological connection to her child. And even though he sure as hell didn't have it figured out right now, he'd meant what he'd said to her those few nights ago in her bedroom. They would figure it out, and they would have a family of their own one day. He prayed that with all of his heart.

Pushing her damp hair out of her face, Nathan laid a soft kiss on Haley's forehead. He let his lips linger for long seconds, and when he finally pulled away he snuggled his body close to hers. He let his head rest above her heart and let the gentle beats lull him into a deep sleep.

"I love you," he whispered against her chest before the darkness finally enveloped him.