Okay, I just couldn't help updating this story again...
Chapter 38
Nathan raised his eyebrows as he watched a very distracted Haley from across the airport. Something was off with her, he just knew it. She'd denied anything being wrong when he asked her, but he saw through her.
She hadn't even noticed him standing not too far from her, despite her claim of excitement to see him. She looked deep in thought.
He was also a little confused why there wasn't a rambunctious six year old running into his arms and asking him all about his week in Charlotte.
He finally began to walk over to her, clearing his throat. "Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, pulling is wallet out of his pocket.
Haley offered him a smile, laughing quietly at his words, pulling him into a hug, "They're worth way more than that, what else do you have in there?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"I think I have something you might be a little more interested in," He said, smirking and leaning down an kissing her softly, lifting her up off the ground.
"That works," Haley responded, grinning at him, pressing a delicate kiss to his cheek. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, where's Jamie?" He asked, looking around and frowning slightly.
"I told Jamie that you weren't coming home for another three hours, so he's with Peyton and Jenny right now," She informed him, clearing her throat, sliding her hand into his.
"Oh?" He asked her, frowning slightly, beginning to follow her out of the airport towards the parking lot.
"Yeah, I um... Hope you don't mind. We just have some things we need to talk about," She informed him, glancing over at him.
Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking down at her and clearing his throat. "We do?"
"Yep," She hummed, pressing her lips together tightly, letting out a deep breath.
"Haley, you're kinda freaking me out," He said quietly to her, glancing around and shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I asked you if you were okay, and you keep telling me you are."
"I am okay, Nathan," Haley responded quickly, squeezing his hand. "I found a lucky parking spot," She informed him, humming softly.
Nathan furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion as he watched her approach her car, his hand still clasping her's tightly. "Want me to drive?"
"No, I'll drive," She informed him, letting out a small sigh, thanking him quietly when he opened her door for her. She watched as he tossed his bag into the back seat, before hurrying to the passenger door, getting in.
It was quiet for a little while, Haley could feel Nathan's concerned eyes on her, and she just wanted to push them away. She really did appreciated how much he cared for her, but she'd explain everything as soon as they got home.
"How was practice today?" She asked him, glancing over at him and offering him a small smile.
"Fine. What's wrong?" He asked her, resting his hand on her leg. "You're worrying me, Haley. I know something is up. Why did you tell Jamie that I still had a few more hours, then ship him off to our friends' house?"
"Because I need to talk to you without little ears listening in, or distracting you, Nathan. But I don't want to do it while I'm driving," She informed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Is it something that I won't like?" He asked her, frowning and shaking his head.
"I don't know, babe..." She trailed off, rubbing at her neck and glancing in his direction again.
"Are we fighting right now?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows and clearing his throat. "Did I do something?"
Haley laughed, shaking her head and grabbing onto his hand, raising it up to kiss his knuckles lightly. "No, Nathan, we're not fighting, okay? I really just don't want to talk about it while I'm driving, because I can't look at you."
"I knew something was wrong, Haley... You tried to tell me you were fine, but I knew you weren't," He groaned, letting out a deep breath. "Tell me."
"I'm fine, Nathan. Really," She assured him, nodding her head and smiling slightly.
"Why can't Jamie be here?" He asked her, frowning. "Are we going to have sex?"
"No," She said, shaking her head and laughing. "Would you relax? We're almost home, and I told you why I don't want to talk about it yet."
Nathan sighed, leaning back in his seat and looking over at her, squeezing her hand lightly. "I'm just worried about you, baby."
"I understand, Nathan, but I'm alright, I promise," She said, shrugging her shoulders.
After a few more minutes of silence, Haley pulled her car into the garage, getting out slowly.
Nathan arrived at her side a few moments later, looking down at her and nodding expectantly. "I have a feeling that I won't like what you're going to say."
"We'll see, honey..." She said, standing on her toes and kissing him softly. "Come on," She said, linking their hands once again, pulling him inside.
He let out an annoyed sigh, looking over at her. "Haley, you would just tell me what's going on? You're scaring me, and I'm going to start freaking out if you don't."
She let out a deep breath, looking up at him and squeezing her eye shut for a second. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. "I missed you," She whispered.
"I missed you too, baby..." He responded, kissing her head and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.
She took a step away from him, letting out a deep breath, pulling the hair tie out of her hair, letting it fall down her shoulders. She looked up at him, grabbing onto his hand.
"I think I'm pregnant," Haley finally informed him, clearing her throat.
Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking down at her. "Come again?" He asked her, leaning forward a little bit.
"I think I'm pregnant, Nathan," Haley said, pushing her hands through her hair, letting out a deep breath. "I haven't taken a test- well, I did take a test but I didn't look at it because I wanted you to be here. That's why I called you after you'd gone to bed the other night, because I was freaking out a little bit and I wanted to hear your voice. I don't know for sure but I-"
"Haley," He stopped her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down, okay? Breathe, stop rambling."
"I'm sorry, I just... I didn't want to tell you on the phone, and I didn't want to find out without you with me..." She trailed off, biting her lip and looking up at him. "What do you think?"
He looked down at her, kissing her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly, holding her against him.
Haley blinked in surprise, resting her hands on his sides, gripping his t-shirt tightly, letting her eyes flutter shut.
He pulled back after a second, grinning down at her. "You were freaking out about my reaction? Haley, we already have a kid, I don't see the point in freaking out if you are."
"I know, but we just got engaged, and I thought we could enjoy married life for a little bit before we-"
"We already have Jamie, so the married without kids thing doesn't really apply to our situation, baby," He laughed, hugging her tightly to him, resting his chin on her head. "I want to have as many kids as I can get out of you, Haley. I don't see the point in waiting," He said simply.
"Okay," She let out a breath of relief, smiling up at him and biting her lip lightly.
"Do you have a test?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows and nodding down at her.
"Yeah, it's upstairs in the bathroom," She told him, nodding her head and letting out a deep breath.
"Well then what the hell are we standing down here for? Let's go find out if I knocked you up again."
xxxx
Haley looked over at Nathan, blinking slightly. She thought back to the last time they were in this position once again, a small smile on her face at how different the reactions were.
Last time he had assured her that it probably wasn't true, and now he was fidgeting from excitement because he couldn't wait to see.
She wasn't entirely sure what reaction to expect from him, but she was thankful for the one he gave her. It eased her almost completely.
"I can't believe you might be pregnant," He said, grinning at her and letting out a deep breath. "God, I want a girl, Haley... One just like you..." He said, leaning over and kissing her cheek.
"Might, Nathan... Might," She said, gripping his hand tighter, letting out a deep breath. "This isn't great timing though, you know that, right?"
"Why not?" Nathan asked her, raising his eyebrows. "It's perfect timing. You're out of school."
"Not for nine months though, Nathan, and basketball season is going to be in full swing," She said, letting out a deep breath.
"We'll figure it out, Hales," He assured her, smiling at her. "This isn't bad timing. This would never be bad timing."
Haley smiled at his words, letting out a deep breath. "What about our wedding?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. "I don't want to look pregnant when we get married."
Nathan thought for a second, looking down at her and shrugging his shoulders slightly. "You can stand behind me?"
She laughed, smacking his arm and shaking her head, rolling her arms. "We could postpone..."
"We don't even have a date set and you want to postpone? No way..." He said, frowning at her. "We could get married next month."
Haley choked, looking at him and raising her eyebrows. "Next month?"
"Yeah... Why not?" Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders, grabbing onto her left hand and looking down at the ring there. "I want I marry you."
"I want to marry you so badly, Nathan... But next month? That's so soon..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"Well, if you're pregnant, we do it next month, if you're not... We wait until October or whenever we were thinking," He said, nodding down at her, holding onto her hand tightly.
"See, I knew you weren't listening when I was telling you- Okay, never mind..." She trailed off, rubbing her neck and looking over at him. "It's going to be a lot of work, Nathan. Brooke is going to kill me."
"It's not Brooke's wedding, she can handle it," Nathan assured her, kissing her cheek carefully.
"She's making my dress," Haley said, shrugging her shoulders and letting out a deep breath.
"And I'm sure you will look stunning," He hummed, biting down on his lip, his gaze flickering to our stomach. "Not too tight though, don't want to do anything to our baby girl."
Haley smiled softly at his words, scooting closer to him and letting out a deep breath. "What if I'm not pregnant?"
"Then that's fine too," He said simply, shrugging his shoulders, flattening his palm over her stomach. "But she's in there, I can feel it."
"What if we have another boy?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows and flashing him a grin.
"Sell him to Brooke and Lucas and try again," He said, leaning forward and kissing her softly, leaving his forehead rested on hers. "This isn't what I thought I was going to come home to..."
She let out a deep breath, kissing him again, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's silly, but part of me was worried you would be unhappy and run away."
"Oh, baby..." He trailed off, shaking his head quickly. "I wouldn't, Haley... Never again." He assured her quickly, cupping her cheek. "No, no... Please never think anything like that."
"I knew you wouldn't, but part of me was scared you would," She said, biting her lip lightly, letting out a deep breath.
"I was scared, Haley. But I'm not scared now," He said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Are you scared?"
"A little bit," She said, clearing her throat and looking down. "But it helps me that you're not scared."
He chuckled quietly, nodding his head and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly into his side. "You know, Haley James, you have nothing to be scared of when I'm around. I'll always protect you."
"Can you protect me from nine months of pregnancy and then going into labor? I just want the baby," She laughed, shaking her head and winking at him.
"Well, um... No," He laughed, kissing her forehead. "But I'll protect you from other stuff. You know, like assholes, and robots, and aliens. Things like that."
"My hero," She hummed, winding her arm around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder.
He looked down at her, brushing his fingers over her shoulder, letting out a deep breath. "I was worried about you, Hales..."
"I know, but I didn't want to tell you on the phone, or while I was driving. I wanted to be able to look at you," She said, gripping his shirt and letting out a deep breath.
He looked down at her stomach, smiling slightly, reaching his other hand over, resting it there. "You're so incredible, Haley..."
"You don't even know if I'm pregnant yet, Nathan," She said, shaking her head and smiling. "I'm glad you're happy about this, though."
"It doesn't matter if you're pregnant or not. You're incredible," He said, smiling at her, nodding his head.
She stared up at him, biting her lip and nodding. "Okay," She responded, grabbing onto his hand tightly, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "You take good care of me, Nathan. I need you."
"Don't you dare start crying, Haley..." He laughed, laying back against the bed and letting out a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling.
She looked down at him, resting her hand on his leg. "How are we going to do this though, Nathan?"
"You're worrying way too much, babe," He laughed, scratching his hand over her back.
"I constantly worry," She reminded him, glancing down at him. "I just... I don't know. I don't mind taking time off work, Nathan. But I love my job."
"You don't have to quit your job, Haley," He said quickly, sitting up and shaking her head. "We could hire a nanny..."
She looked at him, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. "As if," She snorted, smacking his knee lightly.
"Okay, forget that..." He said, sighing softly.
"You're gone for most of the year, I can't help but think like this. Say I'm a month along, so that would put this baby somewhere probably in London, alright?" She said, shaking her head and letting out a deep breath. "So after Jamie's birthday, probably around the twentieth of June. So that would put my due date in late Marchish. Basketball season is going to be busy. I could take the rest of the year off for maternity leave, and then what?"
"Relax, Hales..." He laughed, rubbing her back and shaking his head. "You're talking about something we can figure out when it gets closer. We don't even know if you're pregnant."
"I'm a planner, Nathan..." She said quickly, brushing her fingers through her hair.
He looked over when the alarm on his phone went off, before his eyes moved to her, raising his eyebrows. "Ready?"
"Sure," She said, letting out a deep breath and standing up, looking down at him.
"Haley," He said, standing up and grabbing onto her arm. "It doesn't matter to me what it says, okay? If you're pregnant, great. If you're not, great. We can plan a baby according to our schedules," He chuckled, kissing her forehead.
"Okay," She said, nodding up at him. "Okay," She repeated, biting her lip.
Nathan slid his hand down her arm, grabbing onto her hand and interlocking their fingers. He stepped towards the bathroom, letting out a slow, deep breath.
He suddenly felt his heart start pounding. Despite the fact that they already had a child... This was a big moment in their life together. This was big not only for them, but for Jamie... But he was sure that Jamie would be ecstatic.
"Nathan?" Haley asked him, clearing her throat and raising her eyebrows.
Nathan pressed her up against the doorway quickly, leaning down and capturing her lips in a searing kiss, one that made him want to pick her up and take her right back into the bedroom behind them. But they had bigger fish to fry in that moment.
"I love you, Haley," He whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear, nodding down at her.
She sent him a small smile, brushing her fingers down his chest, "I love you too, Nathan. Whenever you're ready."
Nathan nodded his head, looking down at her and kissing her once more, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Okay..." He said, biting his lip to keep the grin from forming on his face.
Haley glanced up at him and smiled slightly. His excitement made her feel excited, at the very least, less worried.
She guiding him forward, looking over at him and he squeezed his eyes shut, listening for her voice.
Haley picked up the test slowly, letting out a deep breath, looking over at him one more time, before looking down at the test.
"It's positive," She told him, biting her lip and shifting her gaze to him quickly.
Nathan blinked his eyes open quickly, allowing the grin to form on his face. "What? Let me see," He said, stepping forward, looking down at it. He let out what could only be described as a victory shout, staring down at her.
"Haley! You're pregnant!" He cheered, pulling her up into a tight hug, lifting her up off the ground and spinning around.
"I'm pregnant," She repeated, cupping his cheeks and kissing him deeply, holding onto him tightly.
Nathan set her down on the ground, his hand moving around her body to rest on her stomach, parting from her lips momentarily, his eyes wide.
She looked up at him, smiling brightly. Good lord, this man was in love with her, and had wanted her to be pregnant and he'd been holding back for the last few minutes while they waited.
"We're having another baby," He said, his eyes meeting hers.
Haley brushed her thumbs over his cheekbones as she saw tears well in the corners of his eyes. One of her hands dropped down to his, wanting to coo at how adorable it was that he was getting emotional, but deciding against it.
Nathan leaned down and kissed her gently, allowing his arms to slide around her waist once again, pulling her body against his.
Haley wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair as she kissed him slowly.
Nathan backed her up against the counter, lifting her up slowly and stepping in between her parted legs, one of his hands sliding between them to rest on her stomach one again.
She smiled against his mouth, pulling him closer to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, letting her arms settle on his shoulders, pushing her fingertips into his shirt collar.
"You know, I'm thinking having sex with you might be the best decision I've ever made," He informed her, smirking slightly, kissing her again.
"Mhm," She hummed in agreement, letting out a deep breath and parting from him, looking down at him. "You're happy?"
Nathan dipped his head down, pressing a delicate kiss to her stomach, grinning up at her. "I'm so happy, Haley... I want this so much."
"You know that sometimes tests are wrong..." She trailed off, looking down and biting her lip.
"This one isn't," He informed her, lifting her up off the countertop once again, holding her tightly to him, being extra careful, grinning at her.
"So, I guess we're going to be pretty busy the next few weeks," He hummed, stepping out of their bathroom into the bedroom.
"Why's that?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows and tightening her legs around him.
"We have a wedding to plan, and you know, not a lot of time," He hummed, laying her down on the bed carefully, hovering over her, his hands rested on either side of her head, holding himself up.
"Mm... I guess we'll figure it out," She laughed, pulling him down and letting out a deep breath. "We still have some time before we need to pick up Jamie. Feel like celebrating?"
"Do you even need to ask?" He questioned her, grinning down at her. "I love you, Haley. So much. I can't wait to expand our little family. I know it's soon, but I just feel so good right now."
She brushed her fingers down his cheek slowly, nodding up at him quickly. "I love you too, Nathan... Thank you for helping me be brave and for being an amazing father. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else."
"You'll never have to," He assured her, kissing her softly, offering her a small nod.
"I know that," She said, linking her fingers behind his neck.
"You don't need to be scared, Haley... Because I'm not going anywhere. I'll take care of you, almost as well as you take care of me," He chuckled, nodding at her.
"I'm not scared, Nathan. When I saw that grin on your face... There's no way I could be scared. We're having a baby," She whispered to him, nodding her head.
"That might be the sexiest thing you've ever said to me. I'm going to kiss the living day lights out of you now, maybe more," He chuckled, the same grin forming on his face.
"Well, I definitely hope there's more," She said, tugging on his shirt lightly, smirking slightly. "A week is a long time to go without this rock hard body pressed up against me, making me shudder."
"Tell me about it," He chuckled, looking down at her and letting out a deep breath. "If I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, just let me know. I know you were a little sensitive with Jamie, so smack me away if something feels off. I promise my feelings won't be hurt."
She smiled, pushing her hand through his hair. "You're sweet," She responded, nodding her head. "You thought putting a ring on my finger was pushing me into a sex addict, but you just wait for these next couple of months."
He laughed, kissing her forehead, "I really can't wait," He informed her, grinning and tilting his head down, kissing her quickly.
She pushed him up briefly, "Which means no more weeks away from me, if you have a day off in between games or practices, you have to come home," She laughed, nodding up at him.
"Done," He responded, kissing along her jaw lightly. "Whatever you want, I'll agree to it. You're carrying my baby."
"Dangerous game to play, but I won't argue," She laughed, pulling him down again and kissing him deeply, allowing herself to get lost in him so easily.
She should've known that her man would've been over the moon. Even back then, it had not taken him long to warm up to the idea of being a father, and they were in a much different place now.
She couldn't help but let out a giddy little giggle as he felt his palm flatten over her stomach once again.
How could she have been so stressed about this?
They were having another baby, extending their small family of three to a family of four.