Little Moments

Chapter 38: Up in the Air: Part 1

Disclaimer: A big thanks to Mark and co. for their characters. I love writing little moments for them.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews. They were down last chapter, but that was expected since it was a future one (far into the future that is). But...to my reviewers: I wish I had a time machine so I could fast forward to April 26th. That way I could reward you with a new episode. Sadly I have no such power and I don't think I can find a DeLorean anytime soon, so here's a little moment to tie you all over. Actually scratch that, it's a two parter!

OTHOTH

After four hours in the car Haley was about to lose it. Jamie was kicking her seat, Charlotte called her name every thirty seven seconds, and Nathan, well Nathan was just sitting there. Sure he was busy driving but he wasn't being very helpful in the parenting department.

Haley had been trying to read since they drove past Holly Ridge, North Carolina but managed to only read about five pages; and that was almost three hours ago. So she shut the book and tossed it on the floorboard. Haley turned around and looked at her eleven year old son.

"Jamie, honey, will you please stop kicking my chair?"

The young boy stopped swinging his feet back and forth and looked up, "Sorry."

Since her mom was already facing them Charlotte batted her big brown eyes, "Mama, can I have some juice?"

Haley nodded, "Yeah just hold on a sec." She pulled the seat belt off her shoulder and leaned over to the back. There was a small cooler filled with drinks below Charlotte's feet and Haley had to unbuckle to reach it. She awkwardly, half way, climbed to the back but stopped when she reached the drinks. "Nathan, don't wreck."

Nathan took a look to his right and smirked. Haley's backside was just inches from him. "I won't."

"Can I have one too Mom?" Jamie smiled at his mom.

"Sure, what do you want?"

Jamie had to think about it. Normally he would say Gatorade or Sprite, but he was feeling an apple juice. "Apple Juice."

"Those are mine, Jamie." Little four year old Charlotte Scott scrunched her brow and frowned at her brother.

"Charlotte, we'll get you more when we get there." Haley looked at Charlotte and handed Jamie a juice box.

Nathan hoped that his kids could keep the conversation going because he really enjoyed the view. It was a struggle though, keeping his eyes on the road was rather challenging.

When he noticed that Haley was starting to get back to the seat and he cleared his throat, "Hey Hales you wanna grab me a water?" She muttered an 'uh huh' and got a water. He couldn't help but watch her as she maneuvered back into the passenger seat. It was a wonder the car didn't run off the road.

Haley handed him the bottled water and furrowed her brow, "What? What are you smiling about?"

"You." Nathan said quite frankly.

Laughing, Haley shook her head, "Me?"

"Yeah, you uh.... You want to get me another water?"

"What? Nathan? I just got you that one."

"I know." He playfully smiled and it was then that Haley caught on.

For being such a smart girl sometimes she was still unaware of Nathan's obvious and uncontrollable attraction to her.

Haley cut her eyes at him and shook her head, "You. Are. Awful."

"What did I do? I didn't do anything." Nathan knew that Haley had figured it out and was trying to play dumb.

"Sure you didn't." Haley laughed and swiped the water bottle from his cup holder.

"That's mine." He looked at her wanting his water back.

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, "You can reach around and get your own."

Nathan frowned and started to reach for the cooler with one of his hands,"Ugh, sorry Hales, but I gotta keep both hands on the wheel. I mean you wouldn't want me to run off the road."

Haley didn't say a word. She peeled her eyes and shook her head. He'd won. She climbed back over the console and got another water bottle since she took his. Haley decided to play along and wiggled her butt while she reaching for the drink.

Nathan laughed out loud when he saw it, and when she sat back down he nodded his head in appreciation.

Haley playfully raised her eyebrows, "Your welcome."

When Haley got situated in her seat and put her seat belt back on she heard her name being called again.

"Mama?"

Haley turned to Charlotte, "Yeah baby?"

"When are we gonna be there?"

Before Haley answered Nathan looked at his daughter through the rear view mirror and smiled, "In just a little while Char, it won't be too long. But we're gonna go over a bridge in a minute. Maybe you'll see some animals in the water? Like a big turtle or dolphin or something."

Charlotte's attention went towards the outside landscape and she kept her eye out for this supposed bridge.

Not more than a fourth of a mile later, the trees started to disappear and the family of four could see the beginning of a very long bridge.

"Daddy look." Charlotte pointed to the structure and Nathan laughed.

"I told you. Now we need to see if we can spot anything in the water."

Haley turned to Nathan, "How'd you know we were about to cross this bridge?"

Nathan pointed to the little square box on the dash, "Well, the blue stuff is water and the line the car is on is..."

Rolling her eyes Haley laughed. She had forgotten all about the GPS, "Okay, I get it, I just forgot we had that thing on."

Just then Haley felt the car start to go up the incline of the bridge and looked out over the water. They started to crest the top of the bridge and Haley got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She wasn't a huge fan of heights, but what made her so nervous was how close they were to the edge. The kids were pointing at stuff laughing, but Haley couldn't help but notice how close Nathan was to the barrier.

"Nathan don't you want to move over toward the center a little." He wasn't really even that close but she was still worried. Haley wasn't really a fan of bridges, and the idea of plummeting off of one was not exactly high on her wishful thinking list.

"We're fine. Nothing's gonna happen."

She looked back out the window and felt claustrophobic. The side of the bridge seemed only centimeters away. Haley glanced in the side view mirror and back to Nathan, "Well Lucas isn't this close."

Nathan laughed, "Hales, it's fine. And Lucas always drives close to the center. We're gonna be alright. I promise."

Nathan moved his eyes to the mirror and saw Lucas and Peyton behind them, and Brooke and Julian were behind them. He was excited about a vacation together. Even though they lived minutes from the beach, Nathan had a teammate offer up his vacation home in the Outer Banks and they took him up on it. Nathan and Haley decided to make it a joint trip and asked their friends to come along.

Lucas and Peyton happily agreed. Sawyer was five and their son Keith was two and a half. Charlotte and Sawyer were best friends and Keith idolized Jamie. Brooke and Julian didn't have kids, at least not yet. But in about a month or so they would. Brooke was 8 months pregnant with her and Julian's first and they couldn't be happier.

Just after the car made it back on solid ground Haley breathed easy. She really didn't like that bridge.

Nathan turned to her and smiled, "See, we're fine. We made it."

Haley sighed heavily. Why couldn't they just fly? Because it wasn't that far from Tree Hill to the Outer Banks, and it was nice to take a family trip in the car. Yes, it was hectic, and loud, maybe better as an idea, but it was still nice having them all in the car.

When Nathan saw the mile post where he was supposed to turn Haley looked at the houses though the window. They were great. Three story beach front properties, and she couldn't wait to see which one they were staying in.

Nathan pulled into the driveway and Jamie jumped out of the car. Nathan got out and opened the back door to help Charlotte out of her booster seat.

The little girl looked to her father and smiled, "I can do it."

"Alright, but if you need me, I'm here." Nathan watched Charlotte's little hands undo her buckles and successfully remove her straps. A part of him wanted to help her out of the car but he knew she wanted to do it on her own. When Charlotte looked up to him she displayed a prideful look he nodded,"Good job Charlotte."

As Charlotte got out of the car Nathan heard a car door shut and turned to see the rest of the gang pull into the driveway.

"This place is great." Lucas had Sawyer by the hand and looked to his brother.

Peyton had a sleeping Keith in her arms and walked over to Haley. They all turned when they heard Brooke groan as she got out of the car.

"Please, please tell me we aren't waiting on a key or something. I really have to pee!" Brooke waddled toward her two best girl friends with a pleading look on her face.

Nathan tossed the key up and down in his hands, "No, we've got the keys." Nathan threw them to Jamie and he ran up the steps to the main entrance.

Brooke made her way so fast up the stairs that neither Haley or Peyton realized she was already two-thirds the way up. Everyone made their way inside but Nathan started to get some bags out of car. Haley walked around and leaned on the side of the car. "This will be fun."

He looked up to her and smiled, "Yeah."

Haley walked close to Nathan and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I'm glad we are doing this."

"Me too." He bent down and kissed her soft and sweet, "I love you."

"I love you too Nathan Scott."

Haley reached for a bag or two and Nathan did as well. They walked up the stairs side by side knowing that this vacation would be great.

OTHOTH

The next morning was everyone's first day and it was around 10:30am when the gang made it down to the beach.

Haley, Peyton, and Brooke were all laying out as their husbands played with the kids. The three women were enjoying a little game they liked to play people watching. It was just what it sounded like. They watched people walk by and would comment. Haley tended to be the nice one, Peyton could be a little snarky or bitchy, and Brooke compared everyone to food.

"Watermelon."

"What?" Haley raised her eyebrow and looked to Brooke.

Brooke shrugged, "Well her bathing suit is green and pink. So I say watermelon."

"Really Brooke? Another food?" Peyton turned to her best friend.

"I'm sorry. I'm pregnant. Don't blame me. Blame him." She pointed at her stomach and grimaced, "Not my fault."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Are you gonna blame everything on the baby?"

"No, just my stretchmarks and cravings."

Haley laughed and then looked at Nathan playing with the kids. They were all down by the waters edge and it looked like they were playing some version of tag. Jamie was chasing Lucas, and Julian was holding Keith running around. Nathan jumped in front and behind Sawyer and Charlotte trying to stay away from his son. Eventually Jamie tagged Lucas and it was his turn.

Somewhere in the mix of it all Keith ran over to the women with his hands extended.

Peyton looked to her young son, "What's wrong bud?"

Brooke and Haley glanced at the boy sporting a blue bathing suit with little green frogs on it.

"Yuk." The little boy grimaced at contorted his mouth into a frown. He apparently didn't like the sand all over his hands.

Peyton used the corner of her towel to wipe off his hands and the boy ran back towards the rest of the kids.

"That was adorable." Brooke rubbed her stomach and looked to Peyton.

Haley nodded, "Really that was. He just ran over here and stuck his little hands out." Haley stuck her hands out and made a frowny face, "That was too cute."

Peyton laughed, "He's a cute kid."

The women all turned the attention to the rest of the kids and saw a few things going on.

Sawyer and Charlotte were trying to bury Julian in the sand but weren't having much luck.

"Charlotte, help!" Sawyer annoyingly looked at her cousin.

The littlest Scott girl furrowed her brow, "I am."

It wasn't Charlotte's fault. She was using one of those itty-bitty shovels while Sawyer had a bigger one. Obviously it seemed like Sawyer was doing all the work, but she wasn't.

Again Sawyer looked to Charlotte, "Help me Charlotte."

Charlotte was getting her feelings hurt. Didn't Sawyer know she was going as fast as she could? The girls were best friends, but that didn't mean they didn't argue sometimes. The younger of the two thought the world of the other and didn't like it when Sawyer got fussy or mean. So Charlotte dropped her shovel and stomped over to her mom.

Haley saw her daughter walk over with a pout, "What's wrong Charlotte?"

"Sawyer's mean."

Peyton perked up, she wanted to know what had happened.

"Baby, I'm sure she didn't mean to be. What happened?"

Charlotte leaned against her mom and felt Haley stroke her hair, "She said I wasn't helping."

"I'm sure she didn't mean that." Haley ran her hand down Charlotte's side, "How about making a sand castle with me? I think I'll need some help?"

The little girl nodded and mom and daughter got up to begin their castle. No more than two minutes later did Sawyer walk over and ask to help. After a few words from Haley, the little girls were back to giggling and laughing.

Haley walked back toward Brooke and Peyton and sat down.

"Whoa, maybe we should call you Super-mom." Brooke lowered her sunglasses and smiled.

Haley waved it off, "Nah, it just comes from growing up in a big family. You learn a lot about sharing and playing nice."

Brooke and Peyton nodded. Growing up, they both had only child syndrome and sometimes it was nice to hear Haley's take on things. Not that she was a better mom, but she was the one with more experience and did happen to know a few things about family disagreements. Taylor James anyone?

As the women looked over to the boys down by the water they noticed something unfamiliar. Three girls in their early twenties had stopped to talk to the guys. Brooke looked to Haley and Haley looked to Peyton. They could see the girls laughing with the guys and it didn't sit right with the wives.

Brooke cut her eyes, "Um, are those hoes trying to flirt with our men?"

Haley sighed heavily, "Better not be."

"Or they'll get on very sandy foot up there..."

"Little ears." Haley pointed to Charlotte and Sawyer just a few feet away. Trying to think positively Haley spoke up again, "Maybe they are fans of Lucas' book, or Julian's movie, or follow the NBA?"

Brooke turned up her lip and rolled her eyes, "Right. Because what other reason would they want to stop and talk to three very sexy, very shirtless men?"

Peyton glanced at Lucas and saw Keith running in circles around him, "And look, 'earth to ditzy girls', those guys are taken!"

Haley laughed at Peyton's statement, but it was true. Those girls seriously couldn't be trying to hit on the guys with their obvious children around and wives around.

Brooke started to get up but let out an exacerbated, "Ugh" She turned to her friends and pouted, "If it wouldn't take me a year and a half to get up from the chair I'd walk right over to those girls and give them a piece of my mind."

The other two girls laughed out loud. Before they could respond Julian, Lucas, and Nathan walked up to the women.

Nathan stood in front of Haley and smiled, "You have a pen?"

Haley grabbed her beach bag and searched for a writing utensil, "Find some fan girls?"

"You could say that." Nathan looked back down to the water and saw the young girls smiling. When Haley handed him the pen he gave it back to her, "Will you sign something?"

"Me?" Haley took the pen and scrunched her forehead.

Nathan nodded,"Yeah. You, and Brooke, and Peyton. Apparently those girls are big fans of yours."

Peyton and Brooke's mouths fell open. They thought those girls were interested in their husbands, not them. But to be fair, the women were celebrities in their own right. Haley the singer, Peyton the label owner, and Brooke the fashion designer.

Julian looked to Brooke and laughed, "They didn't want to bother you."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah, and then when they looked over here you were all giving them dirty looks."

Peyton grimaced, "We thought they were flirting with you." She looked to the boys and halfway smiled.

Nathan knelt down by Haley and smirked, "You thought those girls were hitting on us?"

"Maybe." Haley signed her name on a little piece of paper and handed the pen to Peyton. She looked back to Nathan embarrassed.

"Hales, they've got nothing on you." He smirked, leaned close and kissed her sweetly.

Once Brooke and Peyton sighed their names the guys walked back to the water and handed the younger girls the piece of paper. The fans smiled and looked over to Peyton, Haley, and Brooke and happily waved.

Peyton, Haley, and Brooke waved back and Peyton leaned her head back on the chair. "I feel like a bitch."

"Me too." Haley sighed heavily.

Brooke nodded, "Me three."

As the girls wallowed in embarrassment and self pity Jamie and Nathan were playing paddle ball.

"Dad, come on."

"Sorry Jame. I'm not very good at this." Nathan bounced the ball on the paddle and hit it towards his son.

Jamie hit it back like a pro but Nathan missed. "Dad, you wanna switch with Uncle Lucas?"

Defeated, Nathan turned to his brother and held out the paddle. Lucas traded off Keith for the paddle and switched with Nathan.

Nathan placed Keith on the sand and lifted the little boy by the arms each time a wave crashed ashore. Soon they heard the faint sounds of an airplane and Nathan pointed to the sky, "Look Keith, it's a plane."

A forest green biplane buzzed through the sky toting a banner behind it.

Jamie saw it and ran over to Nathan, "Dad, Dad, look. It says you can ride. Can we? Can we go do that?"

Nathan saw the banner fly through the sky: Ride Me! $40 MP 14 1-800-FLY-THIS

Nathan looked down and was met with Jamie's big blue eyes. That kid new exactly how to make Nathan say yes. He looked back to the plane and then down to Jamie, "You'll have to ask your mom."

Jamie took off running and stopped when he reached Haley. "Mom." He pointed to the sky, "Can we do that? Can we go flying?"

Haley got a nervous feeling in her stomach and stuttered, "I..I...I don't know Jame."

"But Mom, please!"

Peyton and Brooke watched as Jamie pleaded with his mom.

"Jamie." Haley sighed. "Um, I don't think..."

"Dad said yes." Jamie looked back to his dad who started to walk towards them.

"What do you say Hales?" Nathan opened his arms wondering what her answer would be.

Haley swallowed the lump in her throat and knew she couldn't say no. Not with those two looking at her the way they were. She shut her eyes and nodded her head. "Alright."

OTHOTH

Haley couldn't remember the last time she had been this nervous. She turned around to the backseat and looked at Jamie. He was so excited. He was looking out the window thinking about how fast they would go, how high it might be. But as Haley looked out the window all she though about were horrifying images of crashes and flames. It wasn't like she was trying be pessimistic about the situation but her son was going to be flying high and it scared her to death.

Nathan glanced over and saw the worry painted over Haley's face. He reached out over the console and grabbed her hand, "It'll be fine Hales." She turned to him, sighed and nodded. She didn't say anything and Nathan squeezed her hand, "I promise."

Turning the car into the parking Nathan stopped the car and Jamie's eye's lit up.

"Look at all these planes." He opened the door and shielded his eyes from the sun, "There are so many."

Nathan got out of the car and left Haley sitting in the passenger seat. She breathed deeply a few times and nodded to herself, "I can do this. They can do this. Nothing's going to happen." Haley opened the door and met up with Nathan and Jamie.

The family of three walked over to a hanger and an older man approached them.

"Scott?" He questioned.

Nathan nodded and stuck out his hand, "Yes sir. I'm Nathan and this is my wife Haley and our son Jamie."

Grasping a hold of Nathan's hand the fifty something man smiled, "Robert Neely, but you can call me Bo."

"Nice to meet you Bo." Jamie looked up at the man and stuck his hand out.

Bo laughed and shook the little boy's hand, "You ready to take to the sky?"

Jamie happily nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Well before we do anything, I want to run over a few rules, let you folks know what your about to do."

Haley stood by Nathan's side and took his hand in hers. She was nervous. Maybe she should have stayed back at the house with Charlotte and the others. It was one thing to fly in a big Boeing 747, but these little biplanes were small and open. Hair would be whipping around with the wind, and the comforts of normal airplanes with regular seats and flight attendants would be gone.

Bo led the family to a plane and started to point out the parts and the history of the plane. Nathan and Jamie loved hearing about it but Haley's stomach was still in knots. Bo reached into the cockpit and pulled out flying caps and goggles. He handed them all a pair and the boys put theirs on.

Haley looked at the cap in her hands and then turned to Nathan, "I don't think I can do this."

"What? Hales.." Nathan looked at Haley and frowned, "It'll be fun."

Haley shook her head, "Maybe some other time, you and Jamie do it. I'll stay and watch."

Bo realized that the young mom wasn't thrilled about flying and tried to ease her nerves, "You know flying is the safest way to travel. There's nothing to worry about. I've been doing this for years."

"Yeah, come on Mom." Jamie said.

She looked at her adorable son with his goggles and cap but it didn't help, "No, you and Dad go. You'll have fun. I'll be alright down here." Haley handed Bo the goggles and cap back and nodded to Nathan, "Go, you two will have fun."

Nathan had really wanted Haley to go, "Are you sure? I think you'll love it when we get up there."

"Maybe next trip."

He looked upset that she was backing out but knew that he'd get her on one of them someday. Maybe after she saw how much fun they were going to have she'd have a change of heart.

After running through a couple of the regulations Bo and Jamie got into the plane, but before Nathan climbed in Haley pulled him by his shirt, "Be careful up there."

Nathan smiled, "We'll be fine." He ran his hand down her arm and kissed her softly, "I love you."

"I love you too." Haley watched him climb into the plane and she blew a kiss to Jamie, "Have fun buddy."

Haley pulled the camera out of her purse and took a picture. They were waving at her and looked particularly adorable in their goggles and caps.

When she snapped the picture she walked over toward a little sitting area and heard Bo crank the engine. The green plane headed for the runway and Haley felt her heartbeat speed up. Her boys, her husband and her son, the two most important guys in her life were about to cruise into the sky.

Meanwhile in the plane, Jamie and Nathan were having a blast. As they straightened onto the runway Jamie scooted back into Nathan. They were about to take off.

"Ready Jame!?" Nathan practically yelled into Jamie's ear. With the propellers going it was really hard to talk but Jamie understood his father.

He nodded and looked to Nathan excitedly, "Yeah."

They both felt the plane lift off the ground and Jamie grabbed onto Nathan's arm. The father and son looked out over the blue horizon and were both amazed at the sight. The island looked so much smaller up in the air than either of them would have imagined. As they flew over the water Jamie saw fish, and dolphins and could even see people on the beach. There was no possible way to put faces to the figures, but it was neat seeing them from so up high.

Nathan looked down and tried to pick out which house was the one they were staying in. But only being able to see roofs made it near impossible for him to choose. As he searched for the house he couldn't help but think how much Haley would have enjoyed it. It wasn't scary or worrisome. It was beautiful.

Before they knew it Bo had circled around the entire island and they were headed back to the landing strip. Nathan felt Jamie lean back into him as they made their decent. When they felt a slight jolt they knew they were back on the ground. Nathan looked over to the hanger and saw Haley. She was waving at them. When the plane came to a stop and Nathan and Jamie got out the eleven year old ran over to his mom.

"Mom, that was awesome! Did you see us? We were up so high."

Haley smiled, "I did see. I bet it was a lot of fun."

Nathan had finished talking with Bo, shook the man's hand and walked over to his family. "You should have done it Hales, it was great."

"I know, but I'll do it next time."

Haley did have a little regret about not going. She didn't know why she had been so worried about it, everything went fine.

Nathan smirked at Haley. He was definitely getting her on that plane, and it would be a lot sooner than she thought.

OTHOTH

So there's part 1 of Up in the Air. It was way too long as one chapter, so I'm splitting it up into two. Hope you all don't mind. Thank you so much for the reviews for last chapter. Keep 'em coming. Can't wait to see what happens in part two, let me know in a review. I will tease that somebody (Haley) will get into that plane. How...I don't know. She does at one point ask Nathan, "Are you trying to get me drunk?" So maybe that has to do with it, or maybe that's a whole different point in the chapter? I'm not telling. We still got putt-putt, dinner, the all important plane ride, and two people end up rolling around in the sand together. Naley? Probably! I hope you didn't mind the additional Brulian and Leyton, but some of you wanted some of them and I happily obliged. Again, I can't thank you all enough for the reviews for last chapter so for the people who don't have accounts:

tp404: I'll add the "no electricity" idea to my list. That could be interesting. I have not forgotten about the chapter when either Nathan or Haley gets sick. It's just a matter of timing. I have to figure out where it would go best. But don't worry, it's going to be done.

Joan: I will be doing a chapter about Charlotte's wedding. As for Graham (the guy in the Coast Guard), I'm gonna keep you guessing about who it is she ends up with. Maybe it's him, maybe it's some other guy.

Liz: I'm really glad you've liked the choices I've made for Charlotte. That means a lot since she's my character.

Mazzy: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I don't know if you've read ch. 16 (Christmas, Baby Please Come Home) or ch. 25 (An Officer and a Gentleman) but those include or are about Charlotte and a boyfriend. I will be doing one about her wedding sometime in the future though.

BDavis: Thank you so much for your kind words. I know there wasn't a whole lot of Sawyer and Charlotte in this one, but there will be in future chapters. And, I'm glad you are interested in my other story, but don't worry, it will not take the place of this one. My other story is still in the drafting/outlining phase and I don't even know when or if I'll post it. Only a couple people have showed interest in it, so don't worry. Little Moments will not stop because I'm writing another story. I have every intention of writing this until people stop reading/reviewing.

Danika: I'm really happy you enjoyed the last chapter, and no I have not done a chapter surrounding Charlotte's wedding. So you don't have to blame your short term memory since it hasn't happened yet. But it will happen semi-soon.

Hadley: What is it you want to see from season 7? I know I've got an upcoming chapter that centers around Haley and Jamie going to visit Nathan at his first away game (but that's not really even season 7) so what are the kinds of things you want to see?

THANKS AGAIN GUYS. Please review. Who knows, maybe I'll update the second half tonight (or as soon as I can)!?