Ch 45
Nathan and Haley walked into the Scott house Friday morning. It had been almost 2 weeks but it was the first time since they left the day of the championship game that Nathan had been home. He couldn't help but think it was strange that the house looked exactly as they had left it, despite so many things changing during the time they were gone. Spring Break was about to start and Nathan was glad that he had another week before he had to worry about going back to school and to catch up on his work from the time he'd missed. It was a good thing he'd married his tutor, because he didn't think he'd ever get caught up by himself. He'd just finally gotten totally caught up from the last time he'd missed weeks of school before this happened.
"I can carry it," Nathan snapped as Haley unlocked the door and tried to take his bag. "My right arm is fine."
"Sorry," she muttered, pulling her hand back. "I was just trying to help."
"No, you have no reason to be sorry," Nathan said, sighing. He stepped toward her and pulled her against his side "I'm the one that's sorry. My shoulder hurts and I'm cranky and frustrated that you're having to do so much for me when I should be the one carrying things and taking care of you. I shouldn't have snapped at you, but the least I can do is carry my own gym bag."
"Therapy still not going well?" she asked, leaning back to look up at his face as she pushed open the door. "You seemed pretty frustrated when you came back earlier."
"I don't know," he admitted. "The therapist thinks I'm making good progress, but it sure doesn't feel like it to me. I'm probably just being unrealistic, but I have so far to go before I can even use it, much less be able to get back to practicing. I swear it's like there's a clock ticking in my head, counting down until summer practices start."
"I don't know about the shoulder part, but your hand has gotten better. You can grasp things again," she reminded him. "I know you're discouraged, but it's not all going to come back at once. You have to be patient."
"I know. I'm just not good at it," he admitted.
"Then it'll be good for you to practice," she told him,. "You ready for the pep rally this afternoon? Whitey got permission for us to come even though we won't be at school today."
"Yeah, it'll be nice to celebrate. We never really got a chance to do that, did we?" Nathan asked, his mind drifting to what had happened instead.
"You nervous about giving a speech? You know they're going to expect one," she asked, wondering if that was why he was being so quiet. It wasn't like him to brood, that was usually Lucas' style, but he'd been that way a lot since the shooting.
"Nah," he said, shaking it off. "After what we've been through the last couple of months, talking in front of a crowd of people doesn't seem very intimidating. Besides, you're going to be out there with me right?"
"I don't know Nathan," Haley tried to dodge his question. She didn't think she wanted to be out there dancing in front of a bunch of people in her condition.
"Come on Hales," he said. "I know you didn't cheer in the last couple of games, but you were with us the rest of the season and the doctor said it was okay..."
"I probably look stupid in my uniform," she whined.
"Didn't Brooke alter it for you?" he asked. "Besides, everyone knows you're pregnant. It's not going to surprise them if you're stomach isn't totally flat anymore. You deserve to be out there too, I don't want to do it without you."
"Fine," she agreed, "but you owe me mister."
"When are Quinn and Clay going to be here?" Nathan asked, grabbing a couple of bottles of water. "They're still coming right?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea with everything that's happened?" Haley asked again. "I can still tell them not to come. They aren't leaving until after lunch tomorrow."
"No," Nathan said, "It'll be nice to have the distraction and having your sister here for a few days will be good for you. You need to relax and have some girl time. Besides, don't you guys have wedding things to work on?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "I can't believe she's getting married in just over 2 months."
"She's older than you Hales. I bet she's even more amazed you'll be having a baby in 3," he laughed.
"I'm so going to look like a whale in my bridesmaids dress," she whined. "I wanted her to wait until after the baby was born, but the only way for my parents to make it to her wedding and my graduation both was if we put them on back to back weekends. It's going to be crazy, but the doctor said it's fine as long as we take breaks and don't drive it all at once. Of course, I'll probably have to stop every hour to pee anyway. I will be a beached whale with a baby bouncing on its bladder."
"Hey, don't worry about it. No matter how pregnant, my girl will still be beautiful," he grinned at his wife's rant. "Besides, if she waits until after the baby is born, she knows you'll outshine her up there. You might anyway."
"Somehow I think men only get attracted to pregnant women when the baby is theirs," she laughed.
"That's probably true," he admitted, giving her a sexy wink. "I don't think I've ever found pregnancy to be a turn on before, but it makes me hot now. Of course, you always make me feel that way so it's probably just you..."
"Down boy," she teased as she set her drink on the counter. "You have to be careful with that shoulder. I refuse to be the cause of a setback."
"So you have to do all the work," he smirked, pulling her closer and giving her a searing kiss. "I can live with that. We can play the naughty nurse..."
"Nathan," Haley groaned, looking up at the clock as he started kissing his way down her neck. Giving up she whispered, "Well, I guess we don't have to be at the school until 1..."
"Alright," Deb said, storming into Dan's hospital room, a nurse trailing behind her trying to stop her. "I've had enough of your pity party Dan Scott. I don't care if you want to talk to me or not, but you're sure as hell going to listen."
"I'm sorry sir," the nurse mumbled, "I'll call security..."
"No," he said, tilting his bed up into a sitting position and looking at the woman he'd spent the last 18 years of his life with, "it's okay. She can stay."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded, gesturing for Deb to sit. "I guess she has something important to tell me."
The nurse nodded, frowning at Deb as she left. "Just push the call button if you need anything."
They waited for the door to close and then silence prevailed. "Nice room. At least you're out of the ICU."
"Come on Deb," Dan smiled softly, "I've known you for a long time. You didn't come here to talk about my room."
She pulled her chair closer, "I don't understand why you're pushing us all away..." she told him.
"Not everyone..."
"Of course, you let Nathan in," she agreed, "and I'm glad, but the rest of us want to help too. Lucas has been here a few times, Haley, myself, a few guys from the dealership, your secretary, and even Whitey have all tried and you've turned us away."
"I don't want anyone to see me like this..." Dan said, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't want the pity or the condolences. I just want to be alone."
"I get it," she said, reaching for his hand. When he didn't pull it away, she continued, "you're a proud man, but laying here and wallowing in your pain isn't helping anyone. You need help and support and we want to give it to you. You can beat this if you don't give up. You can have a normal life again."
"Maybe I don't feel like I deserve it," he admitted.
"What about us? Do we deserve to be shut out, to feel like we don't even matter?"
Dan seemed taken aback, he hadn't thought of it in those terms. "I don't want to hurt any of you anymore or ask you to put your lives on hold for me."
"Well you are," Deb told him, releasing him and standing up to pace the room. "We want to help you and you won't let us. It's our decision if we want to be there for you, not yours."
Dan looked at her, missing the touch of her hand. She had her hands on her hips now and he chuckled slightly, "you always were stubborn. That's must be where Nathan gets it from."
"I think that's the pot calling the kettle black," she told him, relaxing a little, "but he's turned out pretty well in spite of us and he deserves to have his family around him. Don't take that away from him, from us. You know he's going through a rough time too."
"We've talked about it a little," he admitted. "I'm not exactly in a position to help him right now..."
"Actually, you're probably the only person that really understands what he's going through. You dealt with a potentially career ending injury at his age, and you're dealing with something even worse now. Maybe part of this happening was so you could be there for him. Maybe you two can work together to get better."
Dan closed his eyes for a moment and absorbed what she'd said. Was it possible this wasn't a punishment? That maybe he could come back from this and help his son in the process? He wasn't sure, but Deb was right, it wasn't fair to keep pushing them away after working so hard to prove that he could be trusted to be there for them. He took a deep breath, "I got a little bit of feeling back," he admitted.
"That's great. When did it happen?" Deb asked, startled by the admission. Nathan hadn't told them anything about it and she was sure he would have if he'd known. It was huge news.
"A few days ago. They said it was most likely because the swelling is finally starting to go down," he told her. "I haven't said anything because it might not mean anything. There hasn't been any more improvement."
"But there could be," she argued and he nodded. "It could mean you'll end up making a full recovery."
"It's not likely and I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I guess it could."
"My girl was kinda naughty," Nathan grinned, kissing Haley's forehead as she snuggled into his chest on his good side.
"It was your idea," she giggled, pulling up the blanket further. "It's not my fault you have a dirty mind."
"You took my idea and ran with it though," he laughed, absentmindedly tracing her tattoo with his fingers "In fact, you gave me a whole new set of ideas for when I can get this stupid sling out of the way. We may have to have lots of babies Hales. This pregnancy thing really does it for me."
"Speaking of babies, don't forget you're going to the doctor's with me this afternoon." Haley asked, shaking her head at her husband's antics.
"I wouldn't forget," he answered, bringing her hand to his lips. "You know I promised I'd go to as many I can. I want to be there for you every step of the way."
"Great, the appointment is at 3 so we can go and then stop by to see your dad again after," she told him. "Is he doing any better?"
"I don't know, " Nathan told her. "He doesn't usually want to talk about it. We talk about basketball or what plans we've made for next year. He even brought up the Hurricanes' season and I didn't even know he liked hockey. I really think he just likes pretending everything's normal for a while when I'm there. When I try to bring it up, he usually changes the subject right back to something more comfortable and pretends I never said anything."
"He needs to talk to someone," Haley said. "He can't keep holding everything in." She yawned and snuggled closer.
"I know. I'll keep trying, but you should take a nap," he told her. "I know you haven't gotten much sleep lately, and you're probably exhausted."
"Only if you take one with me," she said, grabbing her phone and setting an alarm, "We have time and we need the rest."
He leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes, his mental clock continuing to tick as he thought about how little time he really had, "Yeah, we do need the rest."
"I want to sell the dealership," Dan said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.
"But you love it," Deb argued, surprised by his statement.
"Maybe too much. I put it, the money, the success before my family. I don't want to do that anymore. Besides, I'm going to be spending a long time in recovery and I still have my mayoral duties to worry about it. I think it's best."
"I don't think you should make that decision until you are at least up and out of here. You have good employees and I've been helping them out. Things are going okay and Nathan is coming back to help out as well," she argued. "Don't worry about it for now. If you still want to sell in a couple of weeks, then that's what we'll do, but you are a great boss and those employees count on you. There are other options to step back without selling. Don't make a hasty decision without considering all of them. I don't want you to do something you'll come to regret."
Nathan and Haley walked into the school during 6th period, finding it strange to be walking the halls while the other students were in class. When they reached the gym, they found their the other players and cheerleaders prepping for the rally.
"Nate," Lucas said, coming over and joining them. "I'm glad you could make it."
Haley gestured for him to go with his brother and went to join the other girls.
The guys walked over and there was a lot of fist bumps and half hugs as he was reunited with his team.
"It's good to see you Nathan," Whitey said, shaking his hand as the other guys went back to joking around. "I've come to think of you as a son and I'll say the news of what happened hit me pretty hard. I think the world of you and that wife of yours. Lucas too. Who would have ever thought that with all Dan and I have been through over the years that it would be his family I would eventually come to think of as part of mine."
"We feel the same way Coach," Nathan said. "There have definitely been times when you were more of a father to me than mine was."
"I'm not your coach anymore Nathan," Whitey laughed. "That would be Coach K. Now, I'm just Whitey."
Nathan grinned, "I don't know," he joked, "I think it'll always be Coach to me. Maybe we should find a new name for you now though, you know since you're going to be an honorary Grandpa."
"It's been a long time since I've even thought about ever having that title," Whitey said, wiping a tear from his eyes. "When we first got married, Camilla and I thought we'd have lots of them running around by now, but we were never blessed that way."
"Maybe it's because you were meant to be a father figure to hundreds of boys, not just your own," Nathan said honestly. "I don't know what I'd have done without you the last four years."
"Well, now that I'm retiring, I'll have lots of time to spend with a grandson or daughter," he smiled. "I think I'd make a good grandpappy."
"It's a boy," Nathan confided quietly as the other students started to file into the bleachers.
"Another generation of Scott boys," Whitey shook his head. "God help the next coach."
Nathan laughed. "It'll be a while before he's big enough to play."
"But he will," Coach Durham said knowingly, "it's in his blood."
They separated to move to the seats that had been set up for them on the court and Nathan winked at Haley as she stood across the way with the other cheerleaders. He hadn't thought that far ahead, but wondered if his son would play for the Ravens some day. He looked up at his father's jersey hanging on the wall. His would probably join it sometime in the future, along with the All-time leading scorer plaque that had already been changed since he'd been in here last. Wouldn't it be great to have 3 generations of Scott jerseys side by side up on that wall?
Principal Turner stepped to the podium and settled the crowd before thanking the team and Whitey. He then announced each player and they stepped forward. The seniors had been designated to go last, with Lucas and Nathan at the very end and receiving the bulk of the cheers. "We'd now like to have our Captain and MVP Nathan Scott speak for a moment," Turner said, shaking Nathan's hand and telling him it was good to have him back.
"Thank you for all the support you have given us this season. It was a long, challenging season and we couldn't have done what we did without your support. Raven's basketball has a long tradition of greatness, but there was one thing that it lacked, one thing that our Coach has worked for his entire career but has eluded him. A State Title." The crowd roared again, many people stomping their feet on the wooded bleachers. "We were determined to win this season not just for ourselves, although we certainly wanted it, or for our fans, but for our Coach who deserves this trophy more than anyone. We started this season with the goal to win one for Whitey and I'm so glad we were able to accomplish that goal. Thank you. I will miss playing here and I'll always consider myself a Raven."
Nathan left the podium and retook his seat as the crowd cheered, many of them holding up signs that said #23 or Nathan Scott on them. The music started and the cheerleaders took position to do one of their dance routines, causing another roar from the crowd as they finished.
Principal Turner took control and when the crowd quieted again, he called Whitey forward. "We have one more very important thing to do today," he said, walking Whitey over to the center of the floor where a long rope was hanging. "Coach Durham, please do us the honor."
Whitey looked up, his eyes misting as he reached out to pull the string, revealing the brand new State Championship banner now hanging from the rafters. He looked up and closed his eyes, whispering to his wife. "We finally did it."
"Nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Scott," the nurse said as she led them into the examination room. "Everything going okay?" she asked. "No more issues since the pain at the hospital a couple weeks ago?"
"No, " Haley said, reaching for Nathan's hand. "Once I found out he was going to be okay, I've been doing well."
"We're glad he's going to be okay too," the nurse smiled, placing a cuff on Haley's arm. Haley took a deep breath as the nurse took her blood pressure. She knew if it was high again, she was most likely going to have to start taking medicine to get it back down. "I25/80, still slightly elevated from your initial appointment, but nothing to be concerned about. The doctor will be a few more minutes."
Nathan stood in front of his wife as she sat on the table. "I'm glad I could be here," he told her. "It's scary to think that if the bullet had hit somewhere else I could have missed all of this."
"Or I could have, but it didn't and we're all safe," she said, leaning forward and resting her head against his chest.
The doctor knocked then and then entered, "Haley, nice to see you. I'm glad you can be with us too Nathan. Looks like you're on the mend."
"Yeah," Nathan said, stepping back and sitting down. "I'm working on it."
The doctor put on gloves and did her exam and then looked over Haley's information from the nurse. "I see you've only gained 9 lbs so far," she noted. "By this point we'd like to see a little more than that."
"It seems like so much already," Haley argued. "I feel like a cow."
Dr. Bryant laughed, "most first time mothers feel that way. Especially thin ones because they usually show so fast. Fortunately for you, being in such good shape has actually kept you from showing as quickly. You should be grateful you still look so good."
"I've been trying to tell her that and trying to get her to eat more regularly," Nathan said, drawing a dirty look from his wife. "What? I have."
"It hasn't been easy to keep a good schedule with school and Nathan being in the hospital..."
"That's completely understandable and you're doing fine," the doctor nodded, "just remember that your number one priority has to be making sure that the baby gets enough good nutrients. I'd like to see you up to at least 13 lbs by the next visit, and no, that doesn't mean start eating extra desserts."
They listened to the heartbeat and Nathan was once again mesmerized by the sound. He still couldn't believe that sound was his son's heart. He was really going to be a father in a few months. He and Haley were going to be totally responsible for the life of the tiny human she wife was carrying inside her. He swallowed hard. That sound was a reminder of why he had to work so hard to get himself back on the court by July.
"Sounds great," the doctor said, turning off the machine, "Susan will be in shortly."
"Nathan?" Haley asked, "Where did you go?"
"Hmm, I was just thinking about our future," he said, standing and moving to her side to give her a kiss. "Every time I hear that sound I'm amazed all over again."
"Me too," she smiled. "I was really scared when I first found out I was pregnant that you would be angry, but you've been so wonderful. You have no idea what it does to me when I see how much you already love our baby. I didn't even think it was possible, but somehow it made me fall even more in love with you."
"I can't say it's the best timing," he admitted, "but how could I not love something that's a part of you?"
"and you," she reminded him.
He nodded, "I had a dream about him while I was in the hospital. It was so real Hales. He had blonde hair about your color right now and blue eyes. Actually, I guess he looked a little like me when I was little but with your hair. It was like I was seeing into the future."
"Well, I've seen your pictures," Haley grinned, "you were pretty cute. I'd like if he grows up to look just like his dad."
Nathan chuckled, "I kind of hope our kids look more like you... only taller."
"Hey," Haley said, "there are worse things than being short."
"Not if any of them want to play basketball," he laughed.
Haley was about to respond when the sonographer walked into the room. "So, we ready to take a look?"
Nathan looked at Haley in surprise, "I thought you already had the ultrasound?"
"She had one at the hospital," the technician explained, "but we look at extra things that they wouldn't in the ER so the doctor wanted another one. Your wife requested we wait until you could be here."
Nathan smiled, kissing her forehead, "Thanks Hales," he said simply.
"It was the least I could do," she said. "You've been so supportive and I know how much you were looking forward to being with me when we found out. I know the surprise is ruined, but you'll still get to see him."
He reached down and squeezed her hand before entwining their fingers. "I can't wait."
The technician spread the gel across Haley's abdomen and moved the wand to get the picture. "There he is," Susan said. "It's definitely a boy."
They looked at the baby on the screen, lying on his back with his legs spread wide. "I can see that," Nathan laughed.
Turning to her husband, she joked, "I guess he does look like you."
"Cuz he's already hung?" Nathan teased.
"No, because he's already an exhibitionist," she laughed. Nathan gave her a look of surprise and she continued. "Oh come on. First there was the Boy Toy auction, second I've never seen someone spend as much time with his shirt off as you do, and third, no matter what you think, I'm totally aware that you used to walk around the apartment naked when I wasn't home."
"First off, I get hot and it's easier to stay cool without a shirt on," he tried, annoyed when Haley just nodded at his excuse, second, how did you know about the other thing?"
"Apparently, Lucas walked in on it?"
Nathan ran his hands over his face in remembrance. "That was awkward."
"Anyway, he could barely stop laughing long enough to tell me," she giggled.
"Are you upset?"
"Why would I be upset other than that you should at least let me enjoy the show," she teased.
Susan printed off a picture, handing it to them before she cleaned off Haley's belly. Haley blushed, realizing the girl had quietly kept doing her job but had heard everything they'd said. "Everything looks good. Congrats you two" she said as she left, a smile on her face from listening to them. She turned back at the door. "I can tell this is going to be a lucky kid. His parents really love him and each other."
"She's right you know. You're going to be a good dad," Haley told him, handing him the picture.
"I don't know," Nathan said, shaking his head.
"You will," she told him seriously, "I'm sure of it."
"I'll definitely try," he said. "I just don't want to screw him up. Promise me, you won't let me do that okay?"
"Nathan," she chided, "you aren't Dan. You're not going to do anything..."
"I don't ever want to hurt either of you and I swear I'm going to do my best to be an awesome father, but I need to know that if something happens, you'll put him first," Nathan said. "Just promise me that, okay?"
Haley looked at him, wondering where this was coming from. She knew Nathan would never to anything to hurt them and she couldn't help but be a little concerned that he doubted himself. She wanted to argue with him, but nodded instead, figuring it wasn't the time or place for that conversation. "I promise."
Nathan walked into the hospital room to find his father watching television. It was a good sign at least, most of the time he was just staring into space when Nathan showed up. "Hey dad," he said, smiling when his father turned off the tv and motioned him in.
"How was the rally?" he asked.
"It was pretty cool," Nathan admitted. "I wish you could've been there. They put up the banner."
"I wish I could too," Dan said. "I'm proud of you."
"I guess I always thought if we managed to pull it off, you'd be right there to watch us celebrate it. I'm sorry that because of my mistake you aren't able to..."
"This is not your fault Nate," Dan said. "You need to believe and accept that. You need to focus on your rehab and your family and stop worrying about me."
"We're having a boy you know," Nathan said, pulling the picture from his pocket. "We just went to the doctor."
"You're going to have a son," Dan said in wonder, examining every inch of the picture the way Nathan had earlier. "I guess I'll be his Grandpa Dan. Wow, a grandparent at 37," he said shaking his head.
"So you understand why I'm worried about you?" Nathan said. "You say to worry about my family, but you're a big part of that family. We need you to do everything you can to get better."
Dan nodded, knowing what his son said was true. He wasn't ready to confide in him the news he'd sworn Deb to secrecy about earlier, but this was another reason to do something about it. He'd never know if he would be able to regain use of his body if he never tried. She was right, he needed to suck it up and get to work.
"I'll do my best," Dan said, moving to return the picture. "I know Haley is probably waiting for you. Thanks for coming and sharing it with me. It means a lot."
Nathan nodded, "that copy is for you. I thought maybe it would help you to have something to look at when you need motivation."
Dan smiled and set it on his bed stand where he had a clear view of it. "Thank you son. I'll treasure it."
"Well the real thing will be here soon," Nathan said, "I'd really like it if you could be out of here and able to enjoy him with us by then."
Dan nodded, his voice soft, "so would I."
Nathan turned and walked out the door and as soon as it closed, Dan pushed the call button for the nurse. "I've changed my mind," he said when she arrived. "I want to start physical therapy as soon as I can. My grandson will want me to be able to play with him."
