A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews. And if anybody loves watching Once Upon a Time and is a Captain Swan shipper, please check out my new story "There's No Place Like Home" and let me know what you think.

Chapter Twenty One

Haley heard her name being called and she got up from the chair. She followed Olivia down the hall and into her office. Even though it had been several years, the room still looked the same. "I'm sorry for calling last minute, but I felt I had to talk to someone," Haley said as she sat down on the sofa. "I don't think anybody would listen but you."

Olivia got right to work as she sat down in her leather chair. "It's quite alright. It's been quite a few years since our last session. What brings you back here today?"

Haley wondered where to begin. "Last year, I was offered the opportunity to work as a nanny again. He was a single father who needed help watching his children while he traveled for work." Even though their session was under patient-doctor confidentiality, she didn't want to say Nathan's name. He respected her privacy and she wanted to do the same for him and the kids. "At first, I didn't want to take it. I was happy working at the public library, but I began to realize how much I really missed working with children. So I took a chance and decided to accept the job. And I love it. I love the kids and I love their cousins, who I also began to take care of. I became another member of their family and they became part of mine."

"It sounds like you are doing quite well," Olivia said.

Haley nodded in agreement. "Yes, but I'm afraid my friendship with my boss has expanded a little further than that." She let out a heavy sigh. "And I'm not sure what to do about it. He's my boss. I'm not supposed to fall in love with him. I'm not even sure if it's appropriate for us to have a close friendship like we do. And now he wants to move his family to Tree Hill to start over. I understand why he wants to move away from Charlotte, but why did it have to be my hometown? Yes, it is the perfect place to raise a family, but it's also a place where I could have some space away from him."

"Why do you need some space from him?"

"Because I need to sort my feelings out," Haley told her. "Or try to convince myself that I'm not really in love with my boss."

"Do you really believe that will work? Don't you think it's better to confront your feelings than try to run away and hide?"

Haley didn't want to admit it, but she was right. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she took off and stayed somewhere else. At the same time, she knew she couldn't tell Nathan. "I know running away won't solve my problems, but these aren't ordinary circumstances. We're four years apart. His family have money while I work hard for my money." She then corrected herself. "Okay, they don't show off like their parents do, but I could never live up to their expectations as a potential girlfriend for Nathan." She groaned to herself as she realized what she had done.

Yet, Olivia didn't seem to mind about the little slip. "Whose expectations are you referring to? His parents or Nathan himself?"

"I think it's more his parents than anybody else. They just see me as the nanny and not anybody Nathan should really be associating with. I know that's the real reason why Nathan's now ex-wife hired me. I wasn't attracted to Nathan and I gave my full attention to the kids just like I should be. Now I'm not sure what is going to happen."

"What about Nathan? How does he see you? Does he see you more than just an employee or a friend?"

Haley really didn't know if he had feelings for her or not. Yet, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be true. "Nathan has shown no interest in me in that way and he probably never will." Olivia was about to respond when Haley wasn't finished. "If I tell him about my feelings and he doesn't return them, I'm going to look like a fool for thinking a guy like that could ever be interested in me. Or even want to be interested in the baby-sitter. I would probably have better luck with a stranger or an ex-boyfriend than Nathan." She grabbed her purse and got up from the sofa. "Thank you for seeing me, but I think I'm going to figure this one out on my own."

Olivia didn't even stop her. Yet, she still wanted to say something before Haley left her office. "May I give you one piece of advice?" she asked. "Give Nathan a chance. He might surprise you."

Haley thought about Olivia's words as she took off for her parents' house. She didn't know if she had the courage to tell Nathan how she truly felt about him. The fear of being humiliated was too great to take a chance on him. But how could she continue to keep her feelings to herself if she saw him every day? She certainly couldn't run away. The kids would be devastated if she did, but would Nathan be heartbroken? Was he just pretending to put on the friendly act in front of his family? She shook her head. No, he wasn't just pretending. They were certainly friends, but could their friendship really become a relationship?

She didn't really want to think about it as she focused on her driving. When she arrived at the house, she found her father in his office on his laptop. However, he stopped his work long enough to embrace his daughter in a tight hug. "Where's mom?" Haley asked as she pulled away from him.

"Your mom is resting upstairs," Keith told his daughter. Haley looked surprised considering she always was found working in the kitchen. "I know you girls have been worried about her and I don't blame you. I've been concerned about her too and I was finally able to convince her to take a break from work for a few days."

"How is that working out?" Haley asked, knowing how hard it was for her mother to take a break from cooking or baking something. "Because you know Mom and she doesn't quit working very easily."

Keith let out a heavy sigh. "I know and that's why I'm worried about her. I know she loves her job, but she gets so involved in her work that she forgets about doing other things. Of course, that might change now that you are moving back into town."

Haley should have known the move was going to be brought up sooner or later. "Yeah, I heard you were the one who managed to find them jobs. It's funny since you and Mom weren't too sure about Nathan and his family in the first place."

Keith frowned. "I never said anything about not liking Nathan Scott. Your mom and I just weren't sure if you would be able to handle being a nanny to a well-known basketball player, but you certainly have proved us wrong."

His wife's happy voice interrupted the conversation. "Haley, what a lovely surprise. I didn't realize you were stopping by today, but I'm glad you're here. I want to talk to you." Haley was curious to know why and waited patiently as she pulled her daughter into the kitchen. "What is this all about Brooke playing matchmaker for you?" she asked.

"Let me guess: Quinn told you?" Haley asked as she watched her mother make some tea for the two of them. Karen shook her head. "Then it must have been Peyton." Karen was still waiting for an explanation. "It's no big deal. She was surprised when I told her I haven't dated since I found out about my condition. And she wanted to help me out by setting me up on a blind date. I told her I would give it a try, but I think I'm going to pass."

"Are you sure?" Karen asked. "I know it might be scary to have a date with someone you don't know, but I'm sure Brooke wouldn't set you up with a guy you might not be compatible with. If it doesn't work out, then you can try again a different way. Maybe you can get a date at the bachelor auction." Haley looked at her with a frown. "Brooke and her friend Rachel is having a bachelor auction at the club next weekend. And all the money is going to the animal shelter and the homeless shelter. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, that's really nice of them," Haley replied. "Do you know if Nathan is participating in it?"

"I know Brooke was going to ask him about it," Karen told her as she handed one cup to Haley. She studied her daughter carefully. "Honey, you're not thinking of trying to get a date with him, are you? Because it would be inappropriate if you do." Haley was about to respond when her mother continued. "Even if you weren't working for him, I still wouldn't approve of the relationship."

"Why not? You treat him and his kids like they are part of our family," Haley reminded her. "How would that change if I start dating him?" She quickly caught herself. "And I never said anything about trying to bid on him. God, I'm not Taylor. I can't believe you would even think I would like going to an event like that."

"No, you're not," her mother agreed. "But you are in love with Nathan."

"That's ridiculous," Haley protested, doing her best not to give herself away. "Why would you think that?"

Karen just gave her a smile. "A mother knows when her daughter is in love. And you certainly have been shot by Cupid's arrow."

Haley didn't respond as she heard her cell-phone ringing from her purse. She saw it was Lucas and answered the phone. "Hey, is everything okay?" she asked, concerned about the kids or possibly Nathan.

"Are you in Tree Hill right now?" Lucas asked, avoiding the question. When Haley confirmed she was, he gave her a few instructions. "Write down this address and meet us at that place in ten minutes." Haley quickly grabbed a piece and paper and wrote down the address before she heard Lucas click off.

"What was that all about?" Karen asked as Haley began to look up the address on her phone. Even though she had lived in Tree Hill all of her life, she didn't quite know where this place was. The address didn't even sound familiar.

"I think Lucas wants my help in finding the right house for his family," Haley suggested as she found the location. "Great. It is exactly ten minutes from here. Do you want to check it out with me?" she asked.

Karen shook her head. "I wish I could, but I have a lot to do here. Have fun and tell me all about the house when you come back for dinner. Tell Lucas that he is welcome to join us too if he wants." Haley just nodded as she embraced her in a tight hug before she went to find her dad and say good-bye to him.

A short time later, Haley arrived at her destination. She couldn't believe this was the house Lucas wanted to check out. Memories returned to when she was a little girl and how she used to imagine what it would have been like living in the white house with the black shutters and red front door. At the same time, she had been happy living in her house with her parents and sisters.

She pulled her car up behind Lucas's van that was parked in the driveway. She saw Lucas was waiting for her, but he wasn't alone. He had brought his whole brood with Nathan and his two kids. Bella was in Lucas's arms while Nathan was holding Noah. The other four kids were running to greet her. "Do you like our new house?" Penny asked her as she climbed out of her vehicle.

"It's not our house yet," Zach reminded her. "Dad and Uncle Nathan are just checking it out for Mom."

"Well, it certainly looks like it has enough room for your family," Haley agreed as the two parents and toddlers came to join them. She turned to Lucas. "But I wasn't aware you were looking for this big of a house. I thought you were going to try and keep it small."

"I want to, but Brooke has her heart set on this one," Lucas explained. After Brooke showed him the house last night, he had to check the house out for himself. "It really has a lot of great features including a pool in the backyard, but its way out of our price range. So we're planning to have our families live together for awhile. And we want our favorite nanny to move in with us."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nathan added. "But it wouldn't be the same without you. I know it will be crowded with two pets, six children and four adults, but we can make it work. You're part of this family and we don't leave any family behind."

Haley knew the children wanted her to continue to live with them, but she still wondered about Nathan. It was clear he still thought of her as a member of his family, but how long will that last? If she admits her true feelings to him and he turns her down, their friendship might never be the same. Then again, Rachel tried the same thing with him and they stayed friends.

Before she could answer, the children insisted on giving her a tour of the house. Haley allowed them to lead the way. The living room and den both had plenty of room for the furniture and toys. Haley also loved the kitchen. It had new appliances and granite countertops. There were several bedrooms upstairs.

"We've already decided Cassie and Penny will share one bedroom and Zach and Tristan will share another room. The boys insist on having bunk beds so Logan could sleep over," Lucas told Haley as she peeked in a couple of the bedrooms. "You will also be able to have your own bedroom and bathroom again. Nathan told me how much you liked having your own space."

"You don't have to go through all this trouble for me," Haley told him.

"As Nathan said, you're part of our family, no matter if you decide to continue to live with us or not," Lucas replied. "I hope you do though. The kids really enjoy having you around. So does Nathan. The separation was really hard on him, but it helped when you came around. He didn't seem so sad and lonely anymore."

"He did the same for me," Haley admitted before they were interrupted by the children again.

"Come and see our pool," Tristan exclaimed. Haley followed him and the rest of the children down the stairs and out onto the deck. Haley had to admit that the pool was very nice. "Dad said we can get a water slide and a diving board."

"We're going to have to talk about the diving board," Nathan said.

Cassie and Penny looked up at Haley. "Are you going to come and live with us?" Cassie asked, not wanting to lose her.

It was hard to disappoint the children and Haley knew in her heart that she couldn't move away from the Scott family. Her fears about Nathan and his rejection was nothing compared to the love she had for his family. "If you really don't mind having a full house, I suppose Cinnamon and I will move with your family," she replied. The children squealed with delight. Even Nathan was happy. However, Haley was still concerned about something. She turned to Lucas. "But are you sure you want to buy the house without telling Brooke about your plan to have Nathan's family move in too?"

"She's not the one who we should worry about," Nathan replied, answering for him. "We still haven't told our parents that we're moving to Tree Hill."