"I do not own One Tree Hill

I don't know what happened when I uploaded this the first time. Sorry!

Chapter 51

"Uncle Cooper!" Nathan cheered, escaping out of Brooke's grasp, grinning at him and hurrying over, pulling him into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Tomorrow is your mom's birthday." Cooper reminded him. "I'm only in town until Sunday though."

"That's great, man. Makes spending time with William's kids seem easier." Nathan laughed.

Brooke cleared her throat, smiling at Cooper. "Hot Uncle Cooper."

"Brooke Davis." Cooper laughed, nodding at her. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation."

"No, don't worry about it. You should meet my former agent, Clay. Clay, come here!" Nathan said, motioning over to his friend.

Clay raised his eyebrows, walking over. "Sorry. Didn't want to interrupt you and Brooke's conversation so I zoned out on my food."

"Clay, this is my Uncle Cooper." Nathan said, nodding at Cooper.

"Ah, you're the famous Cooper that I've always heard about but never actually met." Clay said, shaking his hand.

"Can I come to the birthday party?" Brooke asked, hugging Cooper quickly.

"Brooke, Julian called. He wants to know if you're ever going to stop drooling over my uncle." Nathan grumbled, shaking his head.

Haley stepped out of the back room, letting out a deep breath. She raised her eyebrows as her eyes landed on the group, smiling slightly. "Cooper!" She said, walking over and hugging him quickly.

"Haley, it's always nice to see the woman that keeps my nephew in check." Cooper laughed, slapping Nathan on the back.

"It's unusual to see you twice in a year." Haley said, nodding at him.

"Yeah, I just decided it's been awhile since I've celebrated my big sister's birthday with her. Plus my wife thought it would be a good idea to come. You know how it is." Cooper laughed, nodding at her. "I also heard that this was a great place to get coffee."

"It's the best, that's for sure." Clay said, wrapping his arm around Haley's shoulders. "It also has the most kind and forgiving owners." He added, glancing over at Nathan, holding up a thumbs up.

"I don't doubt it. Well, Nate... I brought your mom a gift, but I also brought a surprise for you." Cooper said, nodding at him.

Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking at his uncle. "What is it?"

"More like who is it." Cooper said, slinging his arm around Nathan's shoulders.

"Well... Then who is it?" Nathan questioned, looking at Clay and shrugging slightly.

"Toni, come in here!" Cooper called out, looking over at the door.

Nathan looked over as his childhood friend walked into the cafe, a small smirk appearing on his face.
"Nathan Scott." Toni said, walking over to him.

"Daytona Green." He responded. "It's been a long time.""Yeah, the last time I saw you... You were crashing a race car." Toni laughed, pulling him into a hug.

"Not my best moment." He smirked. "But I'm pretty sure you've gotten shorter."

"Oh, shut up." Toni laughed, pushing him softly, rolling her eyes.

Brooke and Clay made eye contact, before both their gazes fell on Haley, who had her eyes fixed on Nathan, her eyebrows raised.

Brooke cleared her throat loudly, looking over at Nathan.

Nathan turned back to everyone else, keeping his arm around Toni's shoulders. "Toni, this is my wife, Haley."

"Ah, the girl behind the race car crashing. It's nice to meet you." Toni said, shaking Haley's hand.

Haley narrowed her eyes, letting out a small sigh at the slightly guilty feeling that flashed over her.

Nathan glanced at Cooper, before looking over at Clay and Brooke. "These are our friends Clay and Brooke. Clay is married to Haley's sister."

"You look kind of familiar." Clay said, nodding at her.

"She's a pro racer. Super awesome." Nathan said, nodding at her.

"Oh, whatever NBA Superstar." Toni said, shaking her head.

"Is Jarrett here?" He asked, looking down at her.

"No. I was at my dad's house the same time as Cooper, and he invited me along for your mom's birthday party." She smiled, nodding at him.

"Damn, where's my invite, Coop?" Brooke asked, frowning at him.

"Brooke, you aren't invited." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Your children will go crazy."

"You act like them, Nathan." Brooke said, crossing her arms.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Glad that the conversations you two have are so mature." Clay chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, what are you doing this afternoon?" Nathan asked, looking at Daytona and Cooper.

"My family really wants to go to the beach, so that's probably where I'll start." Cooper hummed, nodding at Nathan.

"I was hoping to spend time with you, and maybe Lucas if he's around." Toni hummed, nodding at him.

"Sounds awesome." Nathan said quickly, smiling. "Clay, do you mind if I...?"

Clay looked down at Haley, feeling her tense up under his arm. "I don't know, Nate..."

"We don't have anything this afternoon, man. We were probably just going to play paper football for an hour then call it." Nathan said, shrugging.

"Okay, I guess I don't mind..." Clay trailed off.

"Sweet." Nathan said, looking at Haley. "Can we switch cars?"

"What?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.

Cooper looked between Nathan and Haley, before looking at Brooke and raising his eyebrows.

Brooke shrugged slightly, letting out a deep sigh. "Nathan."

Nathan looked at Brooke, frowning slightly. "Just a sec." He said, holding up a finger. "Where are you keys, Hales?"

Haley rubbed her neck, letting out a deep breath. "They're in my purse in the back. Just put your keys in there. I'll pick up the kids."

"Thanks." Nathan said, heading into the back.

"Yeah... Well I have to get going. Cooper, it was nice to see you. Toni it was nice to meet you." Brooke said, resting her hand on Haley's arm. "Call me later." She hummed, nodding slowly. "Oh, and could you also tell Nate that I need his help with something, so he should stop by my house tonight."

Haley nodded, "Yeah. I'll let him know. See you later, Brooke." She said, waving at her friend.

Brooke smiled at her, nodding slowly and heading out.

"So Nathan actually crashed a race car, huh? I thought he was just making that up because he got that scar in a stupid way." Clay laughed, smiling at them.

"Yeah, it was a nice one too." Toni said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "He can be pretty accident prone. One time, when we were kids he tripped and started rolling down this hill, and of course I was in front of him so he comes barreling into me. We almost took out my little brother too but he was the only one smart enough to get out of the way." She laughed, shaking her head.

Clay nodded, laughing quietly. "He does have quite the record of getting himself into messy situations. But don't we all? This town carries bad luck or something." He shrugged, looking at Haley.

"Haley! I can't find them!" Nathan's voice rang from the back.

"The question is, can he ever find them?" Clay laughed, rolling his eyes.

Haley sighed softly, shaking her head and walking into the kitchen, yanking her purse from Nathan's grasp, pulling her keys out of it and throwing them at him.

Nathan caught them before they fell to the ground, raising his eyebrows. "Thanks. Here are my keys." He hummed, setting them in her purse.

"You're such an asshole, Nathan." Haley sighed, running her fingers through her hair, shaking her head.

"I know." He responded, shrugging slightly.

"You know?" She laughed out bitterly.

"Well- I don't know, actually. But you seem set on convincing me I am so I better just give you what you want so you can stop being mad." He shrugged, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you later, babe."

She stood there for a second, staring at him. "I'm being a bitch to you, but you're still being nice to me... Why?"

"You aren't a bitch, ever." He said simply. "Plus, whatever I did must've hurt your feelings, so I'm letting you get it all out."

She frowned slightly, letting out a deep breath. "I'll see you later, Nathan. Brooke wants you to go help her out with something when you're done with your friend."

"Alright. See you." He said, hurrying out. He groaned when there was some laughter, and all eyes turned to him when he walked out. "You guys better not be laughing at me."

"Why would we laugh at anything you ever do, Super Nathan?" Clay asked him, raising his eyebrows.

Nathan looked at Toni, shaking his head. "I hate you so much." He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Let's get out of here. You can check out my sweet driving skills in my wife's car."

"I'll walk out there with you." Cooper said, looking up when Haley handed him so coffee.

"On the house." Haley said softly, smiling at him.

""You are the sweetest. Way too good for Nathan." Cooper laughed, smirking at his nephew. He took a drink, nodding. "Rumors are true. It's damn good."

"You're too kind." Haley laughed, nodding at him.

"Bye Hales." Nathan said, waving at her.

""It was nice meeting you, Haley." Toni said, grabbing Nathan's arm and pulling him out, Cooper following them out.

Clay looked at Haley, leaning on the counter. "Place is pretty empty today, Haley. Your waitresses look bored."

"A lot of people are at work right now. Who is that woman that is all over my husband, Clay?" Haley snapped, reaching across the counter, grabbing his shirt.

"Woah, okay. Scary Haley is coming out." Clay said, letting out a deep breath and looking down at her. "To tell you the truth, Haley... I really don't know much about her. She drives a race car. Nathan doesn't talk about her. He's maybe said a few things about her but that's it."

"What has he said?" She asked him, scowling.

"I was watching racing and he said that she's good at it, and that he's known her since he was young. That's it, I swear." He said, frowning at her. "You're scarier than Quinn's dance moves."

"I'm in a bitchy mood, Clay. So leave or be nice." Haley said, letting out a deep breath. "I love him, Clay."

"He loves you too, Haley. I don't know what's going on with you, but he's been asking me all day if Quinn said anything to me about it." He said, shrugging. "What even happened, anyways?"

Haley let out a deep breath, tapping her fingers on the counter. "I'm trying to let it go, so I'd rather not talk about it. Surprise Quinn and go home early."

A few hours later, Nathan stood at the Rivercourt with Toni as the sun was setting, waiting for Lucas to show up. He spun the ball on his finger, before tossing it into the hoop.

"You've got skills." Toni laughed, shaking her head.

"You've got 'em too. Though, I don't think that you're as good at driving Haley's car as I am." He pointed out, shrugging.

"We haven't talked about Haley much today. We've talked about your kids, and your job, but not about your wife. Why is that?" Toni asked, sitting down on the bleachers. "All I know about her—from you anyways— is that she broke your heart and made you crash a race car. I know more from the media and stuff like that, but I don't really know anything about her."

Nathan laughed quietly, looking over at her. "She's amazing. She really is. I'm accident prone, like you said earlier... But she puts up with me. Better than anyone else. She never gives up on me."

"Tell me more about her." Toni said, tapping her hand on the spot next to her.

Nathan sat down, smiling slightly. "Well, she's extremely talented at all things music. She's a great mom, very natural at it. When she gets nervous she starts talking a lot. She corrects me when I use bad grammar or spell things wrong when I'm texting her, and reads over my shoulder while I'm reading sometimes. It's okay for her to do it to me, but if I do it to her it makes her mad." He laughed, looking down at the grass. "You know, she's super patient most of the time. An all around super hero. She's not afraid to be herself, and she never has been. She's the biggest dork I know, and I'm hopelessly in love with her. I know that sounds cheesy, but fifteen years with a cheese ball like her has turned me into one as well."

"That's amazing, Nathan. I'm glad that your life is turning out. Your kids are beautiful, your family is beautiful." Toni smiled at him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, well yours is too." Nathan laughed, standing up and shrugging. "Maybe not as good looking as my family, but still not bad." He teased her, shrugging.

"I can't believe you had a baby when you were eighteen. You have a teenager." Daytona laughed, smirking at him. "My oldest is eight. I'm still young."

"We're the same age." Nathan pointed out, scowling.

"Yeah, but you have a teenager which makes you old." She laughed, standing up and poking his side. "Oh, and my husband is taller than you."

"You suck." He groaned, rolling his eyes. "How do they like having a professional racer for a mom?"

"They think it's awesome most of the time. They have their moments where they hate it though. I don't have much fashion sense, but my husband is color blind so when I'm gone, and he helps them get ready and my daughter has a cow." Toni laughed, shaking her head.

"I want to meet them sometime. You'll meet my family at the party tomorrow, but I want to meet your family too." He said, shooting the ball into the hoop.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." She responded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It sucks that you had to give up basketball. But honestly, I liked the guy you were before you got super competitive and into it because Dan forced you to."

"Haley helped me become nice again." Nathan laughed, shaking his head. "So the whole world owes her for that one, because I'd be a huge pain in the ass to everyone without her."

Toni nodded, smiling at him. "So, you kind of have a TV show based on your life, right?"

"Based off Lucas' book. Which is more about his life." Nathan said, shaking his head and looking up at the hoop.

"I read the book. I haven't watched the show, though." Toni hummed, taking the basketball from him.

"I haven't watched much of it either. It's weird." Nathan laughed, looking up when Lucas' car pulled up.

"Hey!" Lucas said, smiling and climbing out of his car, walking over to Toni and hugging her. "It's really good to see you."

"You too. Sweet car." Toni said, taking a second to admire Lucas' car.

"Thank you." Lucas laughed, nodding at her. "I can't stay long, my mom is flying in for Deb's birthday and I have to go pick her up. Sorry I couldn't come earlier, my daughter wasn't feeling well and I had to stay there until Peyton got home."

"No worries. We've just been talking." Nathan said, shrugging and passing him the basketball.

"Yeah, and I'm still better at driving that Nathan is. He's weak on the turns in Haley's car." Toni laughed, smiling at him.

"Hey, I just know how much the tires cost so I want to take care of them. You didn't seem to care much." Nathan rolled his eyes, shrugging.

"I know how to drive so that it doesn't ruin the tires as quickly, Nate." Toni reminded him.

"I wish I could've been there. We should race or something." Lucas said, shooting the ball into the hoop.

"Maybe tomorrow, it's getting kind of dark." Toni said, retrieving the basketball, and passing it back to Lucas. "How've you been, Luke?"

"Pretty good. We just moved back to Tree Hill, which is great. I'm also working on my next book." Lucas informed her, smiling.

"You two are big shots." She hummed, "I mean, really. How can the world handle the Scott Brothers?"

"They don't handle it well." Nathan laughed, smirking slightly.

"Usually people stare when we're with each other because they can't handle how hot we are. Well, how hot I am compared to Nathan." Lucas joked, passing his brother the ball.

Toni laughed, shaking her head. "I believe you." She said, sitting back down on the bleachers.

"I think you guys mean it's the other way around." Nathan said simply, running up and dunking the ball. "This old man can't do that anymore."

"I have a heart problem." Lucas defended himself. "And I can still do that."

"I have a back problem." Nathan retaliated, smirking.

"Were you two always such complainers? I wish I could dunk a ball." Toni said, rolling her eyes.

"And I wish I was a professional race car driver. So why don't you be me for a day, and I'll be you?" Lucas suggested, laughing.

"Sounds like a fair trade. I'm in." She responded, shaking her head.

"What about me?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No one wants to be you, Nate." Lucas pointed out.

"You guys are mean." Nathan grumbled, "I've been friends with both of you longer than you've been friends with each other, but you team up on me. Now I know how Haley must feel." He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

Lucas shook his head, laughing. "Just shoot the ball."

Nathan walked into their home later that night after stopping at Brooke's house. The house was completely dark and silent, save the light illuminating behind the closed door of Haley's music room, and the gentle noise of a piano.

He smiled slightly, heading into the room quickly. "Uh oh, upset Haley James is sitting at a piano. When's the next hit coming out?"

Haley looked up at him, sighing and shaking her head. "Look, Nate... I'm really not in the mood to talk, so unless you brought me something unhealthy then I don't want to hear it."

He grinned at her, handing her a candy bar. "How did I know you were going to say that?"

She sighed softly, taking it from him and setting it on the piano, shaking her head and beginning to play again.

He forced his way onto the piano bench, making her scoot over and sitting down next to her, watching her hands in awe as she played.

"You're amazing." Nathan told her once he finished, resting his elbow on the keys and leaning his chin on his hand.

Haley gave him a slightly annoyed look at the awful noise that emitted from the piano, rolling her eyes slightly. "What do you want, Nathan?"

"I heard a rumor about the reason you're mad at me- well, I actually talked your best friend into telling me." He chuckled, looking at her and raising his eyebrows.

"You're a jerk, you know that? I'm pregnant, Nathan. I get that I'm getting fat, and you see me eat things that probably aren't sexy to eat at all, but dammit..." She trailed off, shaking her head and letting out a frustrated sigh, turning her focus back to the piano.

He smiled at her, laughing quietly. "Hales, come on." He laughed, kissing the side of her head.

"Why are you laughing, Nathan?" She asked him, pushing his elbow off the piano.

"Because you must have blocked some detail out of your brain in that story or something." Nathan shrugged, shaking his head. "What happened at the beach, Haley?"

"You were staring at some girl, Nathan! Drooling over her." Haley said, glaring at him.

"Haley." He laughed harder, shaking his head.

"Stop laughing, Nathan! It's pissing me off even more." She grumbled, "Just get out. I'm sure your tired after spending all day long with your dream girl."

Nathan stopped laughing, looking at her and kissing her cheek. "I tried to spend all day with her, but she was too mad at me to listen to anything I had to say to her."

"Whatever, Nathan. I'm sorry I'm not sexy to you anymore and I'm sorry I won't have sex with you in the back of a race car or anything. I'm sorry I don't run around wearing string bikinis at the beach. I'm sorry it's taken you fifteen years to realize that you don't want me as much as you want someone else." She grumbled, looking down at the piano.

"Haley, come on." Nathan said, shaking his head quickly. "That's not true at all. What happened at the beach, baby? We'll start there."

"I just told you!" She scowled at him, shaking her head.

"Okay, you keep thinking on that one and we'll move on. To start, you can barely tell that you're pregnant at all. So you aren't fat, or getting fat, or anything. You're amazing, Hales. Come on." He said, shaking his head. "You're a superhero, both literally and figuratively. And super, super sexy. It's ones of your super powers."

"You're just saying that because you have to." Haley pointed out, tapping her fingers on the ivory keys.

"I don't have to do anything. I'm Nathan Scott." He responded, laughing quietly.

"What is the deal with you and this Toni girl?" She asked him, shaking her head and letting out a deep sigh.

"You're kidding me, right?" Nathan raised his eyebrows, letting out another loud laugh.

"Dude! You need to stop laughing at me." She said, shoving him softly.

"Sorry, sorry. I just don't understand the question." He said, shrugging.
"Oh, I forgot. You're a C student." She grumbled, letting out a deep breath. "Just leave me be, Nathan."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just don't see how you don't see how much I love you, Hales." He said simply, kissing her cheek and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe it's because you go off with hot girls that you've known longer than me, or because you gawk at girls wearing practically nothing." She informed him, pushing his arm off and looking at the piano, letting out a deep breath.

"Haley, for someone who is really smart, you sure aren't using your brain- I wish I could rephrase that." He said, looking at his wife. "Think back to the beach. It wasn't that long ago."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Nathan! You talked and smiled at her." She grumbled, flicking his ear.

"Baby." Nathan laughed loudly, shaking his head and rubbing his ear. "Her volleyball landed next to us."

A sudden realization passed over Haley's face and she closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath and covering her face. "Oh."

"You remember now, hm?" He smirked slightly, grabbing the candy bar at the piano. "I'm taking this back because you owe me an apology." He laughed, shaking his head. "All I did was give it back to her and that was that. Oh and Toni, totally married. Plus, I still like being married to you, and I don't plan on that changing. Other girls don't interest me, Haley."

She reached for it, grabbing it back from him. "I'm such a bitch."

"No you aren't." He responded, laughing quietly. "I think you're cute when you're jealous."

"I'm not..." Haley trailed off, shaking her head. "Whatever. I'm sorry."

Nathan rubbed her back, smiling at her. "Let me tell you something." He hummed, grabbing her hand. "I love you."

She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath and resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you too."

"No, I mean it. I love you. Only you, okay? I don't get distracted by other girls. I have the best girl with the best body, and the best personality." He hummed, kissing her head.

"She only knows who I am because I made you crash a race car." She whispered, biting her lip.

"Stop it." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Stop it right now, Haley."

She looked up at him, resting her hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry I've been so cold to you today."

"I forgive you, don't worry." He responded, resting his forehead against hers. "You know, I did stop at the store and buy some mint chocolate chip ice cream on my way home."

"I love you more than you'll ever know, Nathan Scott."