Author's Note: Hey guys! Okay, so I know it's a freakishly SHORT chapter, but I wanted to get this chapter out to you guys after that cliffhanger I left you guys with in the last chapter, plus it seemed like a good spot to stop. Not much else to say other that I hope you all like it! As always, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB. Lucky Bastards.

Rating: PG to PG-13

P.S. – I was in fact able to catch OTH last night and OMG! I hope Nathan is alright! I think it was kind of stupid for Nathan to make Lucas promise not to call Haley. I'm sort of a Naley fan on the show because, face it, how long do you think it's gonna take them to get Lucas and Haley together? Probably light years, way past time for me to be dead and I know I won't live that long, so I can dream through writing my fanfics. Okay, done ranting now. On with the story!

In the Presence of An Angel

Chapter 21

It had been two days since she had been brought to the hospital and Brooke was miserable. Haley hadn't visited her since that night. She missed her girlfriend. Their friends had visited her at various times throughout the day, but she wanted to be alone with Haley; to snuggle up to her and wrap her arms around Haley's slender waist, feel the soft skin of her hips that sometimes peeked from the hip-hugger jeans she wore. She needed to feel her touch. She groaned in frustration; she was bored and she hated staying in one place for long periods of time. The doctor had ordered that this time she stay for a week due to the severity of Brooke's spike. This hospital would be the death of her yet.

There was a quiet knock then a face popped in and Brooke's face lit up in delight; it was Haley. "Hey! I've missed you SO much these past few days! What is so important that you have to miss seeing your girlfriend, who is in this wretched hell hole called a hospital, might I add?" Brooke asked cheerfully. Haley's face remained unchanged from the blank, emotionless frown she had on. "Brooke…we need to talk…" Brooke's happy smile faded into a frown of her own, "Uh oh, using those words together in a sentence, never a good sign. What did you want to talk about, babe?" Haley sat beside her on the edge of her hospital bed, "I know we really didn't talk about it before, but I wanted to know what caused you to have the spike, the first one…" "Oh," Brooke responded as she looked down at her hands, "I um, I saw you kissing Jake in the hallway at school and I remembered seeing you kiss Jake at the party and I thought I had lost my chance at being with you…"

"Oh…" Haley replied sadly. Her suspicions were now confirmed; she was the one hurting Brooke and the only way Brooke would get better is if she took herself out of the equation. "Brooke…we really need to talk," Haley began, tears welling behind her eyes, not wanting to do this, but she needed to; it was the only way Brooke would be able to get better. "Okay… you said that before…What's going on, Hales," Brooke asked as she took Haley's hand into her own. Haley squeezed her eyes shut tightly; this was painful enough just telling her, but for Brooke to hold her hand, trusting her to be there for her, was killing her. "I…um…why didn't you tell me?" "I don't know. If I had told you, you would have known about my feelings for you and I didn't know that you felt the same way and it didn't really matter because we got together anyway," Brooke shrugged. "It matters to me," Haley exclaimed as she placed a hand to her chest, "Brooke, I'm the one causing these spikes! I'm the one that's hurting you! I don't want to hurt you Brooke! And I won't hurt you anymore. I'm solving this problem right now by taking myself out of the equation." She said in a softer voice this time, "I can't hurt you anymore Brooke… I'm leaving Tree Hill. I love you and I'll never forget you. Goodbye Brooke." Haley said this sadly; the tears finally began to cascade down her cheeks as she lifted the large duffel bag from the floor. She walked over and gently laid a kiss on her lips then turned around and began to walk away, but Brooke grabbed her arm.

"If you leave me, then I want to go too, because with you is the only place I want to be," Brooke was crying now too. "Brooke, I can't keep on hurting you. Toni said…if the next spike is severe enough…you-you could die…" Haley began to sob, "I don't want you to die Brooke and if leaving you means that you'll live even a second longer, I'd do it in a heartbeat." "I'd die if you left me…" Brooke whispered then let out sort of a cross between a hiccup and a laugh, "I know it sounds cheesy, but I really would. These past few weeks, even when we were just friends, have been the best of my life. I really felt that I belonged somewhere, had a purpose. I have never felt this way before or felt for someone so much. I am totally, fairytale and all, head over heels in love with you Haley James. I would never be able to live if I lost you…" Brooke's grip on her arm was softer now and she let her fingers slide down to Haley's hand, tentatively entwining their fingers and kissing the back of her hand. She then quickly pulled Haley close and wrapped her arms around Haley's neck, hugging her tight as she whispered in her ear, "Please…" "Brooke…" Haley pulled away slightly. "Move in with me," Brooke stated out of the blue.

"What," Haley uttered quietly, her eyes wide with shock. "Move in with me, Haley. Let's get an apartment together. I love you so much and I never want to be away from you," she said softly as she lifted her hand and gently caressed her cheek with the back of her fingers, "You're my life…I don't know what I'd do without you…" Haley sighed as she searched Brooke's eyes deeply then closed her own eyes, a few tears trickling down her cheeks as she leaned into her hand. She then placed her hand over Brooke's, holding it there for several minutes. After what seemed like an eternity to Brooke, Haley said slowly, "Okay." "Okay? You mean you will," Brooke asked eagerly. Haley nodded and Brooke let out a sharp shriek as she hugged her again. Brooke pressed her lips hard to Haley's and entwined her fingers in her auburn tresses as their mouths fought for dominance over each other. When they needed air, both pulled away and Brooke pressed her forehead against Haley's, closing her eyes as she placed another chaste kiss on her swollen lips, "I love you." "I love you too," Haley responded as she put one hand behind Brooke's neck and brought her head down again for another long kiss.

The rest of the week that Brooke spent in the hospital went by fast, unlike the two days just after being admitted into the ICU. Of course, this was because Haley was there. Brooke had finally been released from the hospital on orders that she had to use the wheelchair at all times unless she was walking short distances, like from the bed to the bathroom. They were now going around town, trying to scope out an apartment for themselves. So far, they had looked at three of them and two of them were out of their price range, the third was just a plain dump. So now here they were at yet another apartment complex, waiting for the landlord to get the key to the apartment they would be looking at.

"Look Hales, I can pop a wheelie," Brooke said with a grin as she performed the maneuver. "Brooke, don't do that! You could hurt yourself doing that," Haley exclaimed sternly. "Aww, come on babe, I'm just trying to have a little fun. I hate sitting in this thing all the time. It is SO boring," she replied with a huff. "It's better than being confined to a bed isn't it?" "Not if you're in it," Brooke smirked. "Brooke!" Haley gently hit her in the shoulder.

Before they could say anything else, the landlord appeared with a ring of keys. "Okay, right this way ladies and I'll show you the apartment. Will you be needing handicap access," he asked as he glanced at Brooke. "Oh, no, this thing's just temporary. I'll be up and at 'em in no time," the brunette responded. "Alright, this is the apartment. It's fully furnished; two bedroom, one bathroom. You get all the utilities…" he rambled off more things about the apartment as they walked through the interior, looking at everything. After they were done with the tour, Haley said to the guy, "Could you please give us a few minutes to discuss?" He nodded then walked back to his own apartment, which also served as the office.

"So what do you think," Haley asked. She really liked the place. It was a nice apartment and a great neighborhood. There was lots of greenery and it was near a park. It was also a close distance from the school, café, and the hospital. "I love it, Hales. It's perfect. Oh, I want it Haley. Can we please get it? Please?" Brooke begged with her hands clasped together, her lower lip sticking out in a childish pout. "Alright, let's go give him the down payment and sign the lease papers," Haley replied as she gestured for her girlfriend to follow. Once all the legalities were finished and they were given a set of keys. Both went back to the apartment to look at their new home again. Just as they stepped back outside to head out, they both saw Nathan come outside of his own apartment and groaned. Nathan saw them and smiled, walking over. Haley and Brooke looked at each other. Brooke asked, "Is there any chance we can revoke our signatures or burn those lease papers?"