Quote of the Day:

Nathan: By the way, nobody's sporting the faux hawk anymore dude.
Jamie: I'm bringing it back!

Chapter 36

Fight and Defend

Four Days Later

Nathan sat in the driver's seat of a rental car. His plane had landed just a few hours before and he had rented the car right away. He picked up the black coffee that he held in his hand and brought it to his mouth. He wasn't much of a coffee person but he had been up for the last 24 hours and he needed to stay up.

Tim Smith was very good at his job.

Two days ago he had called with pictures of Damien and the address. Nathan held the file in his hand as he checked to make sure that he found the right place. Tim had told him that this is where good old Damien West could be found. Nathan left New York as fast as he could. After seeing those pictures of what this guy had done to Haley, he couldn't wait to get his hands on this punk. This guy was about to experience pain like he never had before in his life felt.

His whole body tensed up as a flash of a beaten Haley appeared in his mind. She was just a little girl. How could someone be able to do that to her? His heart started pounding in his chest the more he thought about it. It was all he was able to think about for the last four days. Her small innocent body in those pictures.

It was something that he was sure he would never forget.

This guy deserved to die.

Four days ago after Lucas revealed his startling information Nathan had tried calling Haley once again. But just like before all he got was her voicemail. He understood why she didn't pick up. He got it. But she was wrong if she thought that he only wanted her back just because he found out the truth. He loved her. He loved her more than anything. This was going to prove that. He was sure of it.

This Damien West was going to pay. It was one thing to fight another guy but it was a totally different story when you're hitting a defenseless woman or child. Haley was just a kid and from the looks of those pictures he hit her like she was a man. After Lucas had left his room that night he ran straight to the bathroom and threw up. Just the thought of someone hurting her made him sick and pissed off.

Everything made so much sense now.

This was the reason she cried at night. That first night when she thought someone was hurting her, she was dreaming about him, Damien. He was the reason for her tears. She was just a kid and lost her whole family and this guy just beat her. It was the reason why she was this way. He made her this way. All that pain in her chocolate eyes were because of him and what he had done to her.

He read the whole file and knew the whole story.

He was never more thankful for Brooke Davis in his whole life then when he read the part about the little girl driving all the way to make sure her bestfriend was alright. If it hadn't been for Brooke then Haley might have died. It was exactly what the official police report had said. Haley had been so badly beaten that she was in a coma for a week. This guy had tried to kill her and because of Brooke that didn't happen. She saved Haley's life.

After he had read the file a good twenty times and threw up three more, it was then that he started to read her journal. He remembered untying the strings that held it together and unfolding the single white paper. It was a note from Haley to him before he started reading it. He remembered her exact words on that paper.

Nathan, this is everything. You want to know the real me well then read it. It has everything. I started writing in it after I moved away. Every night before bed I would write in it and say what I was feeling and it's just everything. Please read it. I want you too. I want you too know what I was feeling. I want you too see me –the real me. Again, I love you.

After he had read that he started reading her most private thoughts. The first one was of her saying how much she missed normal. He remembered the 65th page is where she went on about how she couldn't remember her mothers smell or laugh anymore. It was then that he noticed his tears spilling on the pages with her words. By page 232 it was then that she said she couldn't remember their voices. He stopped reading after that. He couldn't take the pain. His heart broke for her with every word.

And still he tried calling her again and still no answer.

He knew coming here would solve nothing. Hurting this guy would do absolutely nothing but this was his wife. She wasn't just some girl that he sorta cared about. This was the love of his life. The girl of his dreams and hopefully one day she would be the mother of this children. What kind of man would he be if he didn't defend her?

It was any wonder why she could hardly sleep at night. This guy was still out there. She must have been terrified that he would just show up and attack her at any minute. All the people in the world and she was mostly terrified by this guy. This guy who wasn't even a man, he couldn't be. No man would feel the need to hit and innocent child. This guy was seriously disturbed. The official police report had said that he couldn't be found. He never spent time in jail for what he did to her. After two months of looking for him they just stopped. The guy had like three warrants out for his arrest.

It had been days since he had last seen her. Days since he last held her in his arms and made love to her. His body and his heart were aching for her. The need to hold her in his arms and never let her go filled his mind all day long. He had to make things right. No matter what it took he was going to prove to her and Brooke that he was the right guy for her. He would protect her from guys like Damien West. It was his job. He was her husband.

"Tell me why we're here again," Lucas asked while taking off his sunglasses and placing them on the dashboard.

Nathan eyes left the whole in the wall bar that they had been glued to. "I already told you."

"Nate," Lucas said in a serious tone. "You can't kill him."

"He deserves to die. You saw the pictures, Lucas. You saw what he did to her. He almost killed her. She's terrified of him…she can barely sleep at night. She shouldn't have to live like that. She's never going to be okay unless he's gone. It's the only way she's going to be able to move on," Nathan replied while staring his brother down.

"You don't know that," Lucas said softly.

"Yes, I do," Nathan said stubbornly.

Lucas just shook his head. "This isn't you. You're not that guy."

"If I have to be that guy to keep her safe, then that's the guy I'm going to be," Nathan stated firmly. "I'm not going to apologize for wanting to defend her or fighting back when someone hurts her…I can't do that, and I won't do that because that's the guy I'll never be, Luke. She's my wife…I have to protect her, okay?"

"I understand," Lucas mumbled while turning his attention back towards the bar. "Let's just get this over with."

Nathan nodded his head as he turned his head. He hated that Lucas insisted that he come with him. This was something that he needed to do alone. Lucas didn't need to be involved in any of this. This wasn't Lucas's battle.

"You're sure he's in there?" Nathan questioned.

"Yep, I'm sure," Lucas said checking his cell phone. "He was drinking at the bar. It was him. The same guy from the pictures that Tim took."

"I'll wait until he leaves," Nathan said more to himself than to Lucas. He didn't want to just start beating this guy up in a bar filled with men. They would most probably get their asses kicked if they did that. Nathan could wait until this guy went home. Then he would pay.

Two hours had passed by and it was starting to get dark outside. Damien had finally left the bar alone and jumped into his beat up old truck. Nathan nudged Lucas on the arm to wake him up. He pointed towards the truck taking off down the road. Lucas sat up quickly as Nathan started to follow him.

"How long was I out?"

"Hour and thirty minutes."

"That sucks."

"This guy is an alcoholic," Nathan mumbled to himself as they continued to drive. Damien had stayed in the bar almost all day long drinking. The guy must have been drunk off his ass. He just had too.

"I can't do this," Lucas said shaking his head as the car stopped in front of the apartment complex that Damien had pulled up in.

"What?" Nathan asked angrily. "If this was Brooke it would be a different story."

"No," Lucas said timidly. "It's just that I can't go to prison…I won't survive it. I can't be somebody's bitch, Nate. Look at me. I'm good looking…they'll eat me alive."

"Just stay here," Nathan said before getting out of the car.

Lucas did his best to get his words out before the car door was slammed shut. "Don't do anything you'll regret!"

Nathan took off walking with his fisted balled up. He wanted the guy to die but he wasn't going to kill him. No. He was just going to kick this guys ass like there was no tomorrow. He wanted to make it clear that this punk better never go near his wife again. Then after that and at least seeing the guy on the floor in pain, well then he would leave. But nothing was going to stop him from doing this. He watched as the guy stopped in front of a door and put his key inside. He turned the knob and walked inside. Nathan waited until the door was closed before he walked up to it and started knocking. He knocked as loud as he could. It somehow got his adrenaline going.

"Funk off!"

Nathan didn't let those words stop him. He continued to pound on the door. This guy wasn't getting off the hook that easy. It was seconds later that the door finally swung open. Nathan took a second to look at this raggedy old man. His hair was starting to turn gray and his face seemed to age from the pictures that Nathan had saw. The white stained muscle shirt showed way too much of his chest hairs and his beer belly was hanging way out. Nathan decided to take a page out of the Brooke Davis handbook.

"I said fuck –"

His fist collided straight into the guy's mouth sending him flying back a few feet. Somehow just hitting him made Nathan feel better and he walked forward and did it again. But unlike Brooke he couldn't feel the pain in his hand.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Damien yelled as he fell back once again.

"It's not so much fun when you're on the receiving end is it," Nathan yelled as he hit the guy again. It was then that Damien took a swing and slammed his fist right in Nathan's eye. The impact had Nathan backing a few feet before swinging again. Both guys fell to the ground and Nathan positioned himself so that he was on top of Damien and pounding him in his face. He hit him so hard that soon there was blood all over the guys face and his hands.

"What did you do to her?" Nathan shouted. He wanted to stop, he really did. He knew that the guy had enough but something inside wouldn't let him. His fists continued to hit the guy as flashes of Haley's bruised body flashed in his mind. "She was just a kid…how could you –"

It was then that he felt someone pulling him off of Damien.

"That's enough," Lucas said pulling his brother forcefully off of Damien. He backed them up until they were all the way on the other side of the room. Nathan turned to his brother with death glare.

"He deserves this…he deserves more than this," Nathan said heatedly. His blood was pumping and he was sure that if Lucas hadn't of pulled him off then he would have probably killed the guy.

"Nathan, you're bleeding," Lucas said pointing to the cut right above his brother's eye.

They were both so caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice Damien get up and reach in a drawer.

"We need to get you to a hospital," Lucas shouted at his stubborn brother.

"No," Nathan said firmly.

"Nobody's going anywhere," Damien shouted with an evil laugh as he pointed the gun in his hands at the two boys. As if on instinct Nathan moved his body in front of his brother's as if it would protect him. "I knew she would send someone after me one day."

"You blame her," Nathan shot back.

"No talking or I will kill you," Damien said wiping the blood from his face while hold the gun firmly in his other hand. Nathan watched as the guy tried to stand up straight but he was obviously still too drunk. It was then that something snapped inside of him. He couldn't explain it then but as he started walking forward he knew that nothing would stop him. The need to protect his wife and brother made his body work in autopilot. He heard his brother calling his name desperately but that didn't stop him from moving forward. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Nathan," Lucas whispered.

"Do it," Nathan shouted as he walked closer.

"So you're willing to die for her, is that it?" Damien asked laughing as he put his other hand on the gun.

Of course, Nathan thought. She was his wife. He would die for her in a heart beat.

"Don't," Lucas shouted.

"Do it," Nathan shouted again. "Kill me…go ahead…it's not like you haven't tried to kill someone before…I'm a man…not some helpless little girl so do it….shoot me!" Before Damien had time to pull the trigger Nathan had made it in front of his body and his hands went for the gun. Soon Nathan was trying to get the gun out of Damien's hands. Seconds later the gun went off and both bodies fell to the floor.

"I still don't see it."

"It's right there."

"All I see are black wavy lines."

"It's this little dot."

"Oh that."

"Yep."

"We'll I noticed that."

"I told you."

"Your baby's a dot," Brooke said laughing as she took the picture in her hands and smiled at it. "I'm going to be the best godmother in the whole wide world!"

"She's been like this the last two days," Haley said laughing as she looked over at an amused Peyton.

"How you doing with all of this?" Peyton asked as she put a comforting hand on Haley's shoulder.

"She's fine," Brooke answered for her.

"Thanks, Penelope, but I would actually like Hales here to talk for herself," Peyton said sarcastically before turning her attention back to Haley.

"I am…I'm good," Haley said softly. "He tried calling but I just…I want him to have time to think about everything. Plus, I know he's only calling because he saw the video and most probably read my journal."

"Which I am still mad about by the way!" Brooke said interrupting them.

"Okay, I have to hear this," Peyton said looking between the two.

"She's mad because I let Nathan read my journal and not her," Haley said rolling her eyes. "Honestly Penelope, you already know the stuff I wrote in there anyways. I tell you everything, Tigger."

"Well I wouldn't hurt for you to say it sometimes," Brooke said with a pout while placing her head on Haley's shoulder.

"The doctor asked if I had a baby before…I didn't know how to tell her about this little one," Haley joked while pointing to Brooke.

"I'm still mad about that too," Brooke added.

"Me too," Peyton replied. "You should have told us. We would have been there with you. You shouldn't have to deal with this alone, Hales. We're your best friends…you should have called."

"Again I'm sorry," Haley said apologetically.

"How far along are you?" Peyton asked.

"Almost four weeks," Haley said smiling.

"How do you feel about the baby?"

"Remember how nerdy she used to be on the first day of school?" Brooke asked as she looked over at Peyton. Peyton nodded her head. "Well, it's like the first day of school, like everyday!"

"That excited, huh?"

"Yep," Haley said with a huge smile. "I don't know guys. At first I went a little crazy. I mean I took like four different pregnancy test before Kristen's play and they were like all positive. I was a little scared at first but I'm just not anymore…I'm so excited. I'm gonna have baby!"

"Yeah ya are," Brooke said clapping her hands.

"I'm going to be a mom," Haley said still smiling. "I never thought I would be this excited about this but I am. I can't help it. I want this…I want to have a baby with him, even if he doesn't want one with me."

"He does…he will," Peyton said with a soft smile.

"I'm going to have a family…like a real one," Haley said placing her hand over her flat stomach. "I actually can't wait until I get fat."

"What?"

"Oh Brookie," Haley said laughing. "I want my baby to be healthy."

"You don't have to get fat to do that," Brooke mumbled.

"But I want him to have fat little chubby cheeks," Haley said with a baby voice.

"You're adorable," Peyton said laughing.

"Enough with this crazy talk," Brooke shouted. "Can we please talk about the most important thing here?" They both looked at her. "I'm just saying and this is a good one. Wait for it…when can we start baby shopping?"

"I knew it," Haley said laughing. It was just so Brooke Davis.

"Maybe after she tells the father he's going to be a father," Peyton joked.

"Haha, real funny, P. Jaglieski," Haley said tossing a pillow at her. "I will tell him once he decides to come back home."

"Oh let's decorate the baby room...or we can decide what to do for Haley's birthday next week!" Brooke said clapping her hands. All three girls laughed as the phone started ringing. Peyton reached over and grabbed it before handing it over to Haley. Haley stood up and walked away from the girls before answering the phone. She knew that if she stayed by Brooke then she would make her laugh more.

"Hello…yes this is Mrs. Scott…what…oh," the phone fell out of Haley's hands as she looked at her two best friends terrified.

"Who was it?"

"The hospital."

AN: Now calm down. We don't really know what happened but feel free to guess.