Disclaimer: One Tree Hill, Nathan, Haley, and the others belong to Mark Schwahn, Warner Bros, The CW, etc..
Notes: This one is basically all one thing. No line breaks. Enjoy! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
Haley yawned and stretched in the small space provided by her seat. She lifted the plastic covering over the window and looked out. She could see the land beneath them. The houses were tiny, the land was green, and if she looked hard enough, she could see little cars driving through the highways. She had just woken up from a nap. She, Nathan, and Sam were headed to Tree Hill for the weekend. It was Memorial Day Weekend and Sam had Monday off from school. They were letting him miss Friday, but Haley wasn't really happy about it. She loved school and considered it such an important part of Sam's life.
The wedding was two weeks away, so the family was headed to North Carolina to finalize the wedding plans. That night, they would be having dinner with Karen, Keith, and Lily at their house. Deb would be joining them. Karen wanted to give them a preview of the menu they had discussed for the wedding. The family was looking forward to a nice, home cooked meal after having spent the day traveling.
Nathan and Haley would be spending almost all of Saturday going throughout town. They had to meet with the florist and they had to meet with the minister. Deb would be going with them for a lot of it to help out. They would also be overseeing a few last minute details at the spot on the beach where they were getting married. They had decided to have the reception at Deb's beach house. More specifically, they were having the reception at the beach.
They had met with a party planner in town who was a big help. She had everything they wanted for a small reception between their family and friends. Haley's family made up the bulk of their guest list. It consisted of her parents, her siblings and their families, and her grandparents. Nathan's family would be attending, of course. That meant Keith, Karen, and Lily. Royal and Mae were looking forward to it. Whitey was even coming. Not on the guest list was Dan Scott. No one had heard from him since he had visited Nathan that past August.
Haley looked to her right. Sam was in the middle seat and Nathan had the aisle. Sam's tray was down and he and Nathan were playing a game on his Nintendo DS. The two were quietly working, trying to figure out what they should do next to get to the next level. She smiled when she saw them and yawned again. She'd been feeling so tired lately. She knew it had to be because of how busy they were. She wouldn't get another chance to rest until after her tour. It would all be worth it. Their wedding and honeymoon, Nathan and Sam coming with her on tour. Everything was going to be worth it.
Haley had come to be very comfortable in Deb's beach house. She had stayed there two months earlier when she went to oversee some of the wedding plans. The beach house wasn't home, but it was homey. Deb definitely made her feel more than welcome. Haley had stayed in Nathan's room when she had been there. The room had him all over it. She had liked it when they were there over Thanksgiving. When she had been there without him, she felt a little better knowing that she was in his room.
Their plane landed in late afternoon. The airport was crowded, due to the holiday weekend. Most were heading to nearby Wilmington or were catching connecting flights to South Carolina. There would be some fireworks that night in Tree Hill. Nathan and Haley had promised to take Sam to see them. He was very excited, but Nathan and Haley weren't sure he would be awake. He was more tired than he realized. Traveling always made Sam a little tired. He would be fine the next day. His parents just weren't sure he'd still be awake for fireworks.
Haley had come to really like being in Tree Hill. It had all of the charm that Charlotte had, but on a much smaller scale. Since living her life in the spotlight, Haley had come to appreciate quiet places like this. Tree Hill reminded her a little of being in her own hometown. She was becoming very familiar with the town and its residences treated her like one of their own. A few had commented to her that it was nice to know that Nathan Scott was settling down. They said it with a twinkle in their eye, referring to the trouble Nathan got into as a kid.
Dinner with Karen, Keith, and Lily was wonderful. Nathan was in such a good mood being there with his family that he didn't even glare at Skills as often as he had on their last visit. He didn't realize Skills would be there and it was a little uncomfortable at first. But, his mom seemed happy. Given his own happiness, Nathan couldn't hold it against his mom.
"I hope you all enjoyed that," Karen said as she cleared the dishes.
"Let me help you with that," Haley offered, standing and collecting some of the plates on the table.
"No, no. You're a guest, Haley. Sit down."
"Karen, you cooked all of this for us. The least I can do is help you out," Haley insisted.
Karen couldn't stop her and Haley was walking from the dining room to the kitchen, helping collect dishes and putting them to the sink for washing. She was about to help Karen with dessert when the older woman did actually stop her.
"Haley, Nathan said earlier that you've been running around ragged for a bit and that you're tired. You spent your day on a cramped airplane. Go, relax. I can take care of this."
When Haley went back to the dining room, she scooted her chair closer to Nathan so that she could rest on his shoulder. In addition to the activities of the day, the meal Karen had prepared was also making Haley tired. Karen had made prime rib and macaroni and cheese. Both Haley and Nathan's favorite dishes. They tasted wonderful. They knew their wedding guests would be pleased. Karen was also planning a salad, grilled salmon, and a few other dishes.
Haley was grateful for the food. She had eaten a light breakfast, but had gotten sick at the airport before they boarded their plane. Not only had Haley been feeling tired, but she had also been feeling nauseated for the past few days. She was having trouble keeping her food down. After vomiting and not wanting to eat the snacks on the plane, Haley was starving by the time Karen put dinner in front of them. She ate everything on her plate.
Nathan had noticed that Haley had been feeling sick. She hadn't told him after getting sick at the airport, but he could tell something was going on. She was slightly more pale when she returned and she looked a little queasy. He had noticed it the days before when it had happened. She had assured him that it was just a bug and that it would go away. She was planning on taking a few days off from work so she could recover. She promised him she would not be sick on their wedding day.
Nathan watched as she ate her dinner. It was kind of cute how hungry she was. She enjoyed every bite of every dish she had. It had been the same two days earlier. After she'd gotten sick, they ordered pizza. Haley had eaten more than she usually had. It was like she was making up for what she'd thrown up. Still, Nathan was curious. It was like she would be sick one moment, but fine the next.
Back at Deb's that night, they curled up in bed, the navy blue sheets covering them both. With the spring breeze and the sound of the ocean coming in, they slept with the French doors open. It was peaceful with the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea water.
Haley was curled up to Nathan. They slept every night in almost the same way. They were constantly touching. Nathan had his arms around her and she almost always had her arm over his arm. They were in each other's arms; that was how they slept best. They were content that way.
Nathan hadn't realized how tired he was. They had come back to Deb's with Sam. Sure enough, he had fallen asleep before the fireworks began. Deb was staying with Skills that night, so Nathan, Haley, and Sam had the house to themselves. They were too tired to do much. Instead, they just went straight to sleep.
Haley couldn't remember the last time the sight of a bed was so welcoming. When she and Nathan crawled into bed, she fell asleep almost immediately. It was several hours later when she was woken up by a familiar feeling. She felt it in her stomach, then in her throat. Before she could feel it in her mouth, she gently pried herself from Nathan's arms and went to the bathroom. She closed the door and turned on the sink, hoping that the running water would mask the sound of her retching. Sure enough, the prime rib and macaroni and cheese were making a reappearance.
When Haley was sure her stomach was empty, when she was sure nothing else could possibly come up, she leaned against the wall just opposite the toilet. The coolness of the tile on the floor was welcome to her. Her forehead was slightly damp with sweat caused by vomiting. She closed her eyes and breathed, wanting to calm down before heading back to bed.
Nathan had noticed that Haley had left the bed. He heard her go in the bathroom and he heard the sound of water. He was hoping that she was going to the bathroom, but he could hear what was going on. This had been going on for too many days and he had a feeling. He needed to speak with Haley, so he got up out of bed. His bare feet barely made a sound and the sound of the faucet kept his approach even quieter.
He found her with her eyes closed and her head back against the wall. She looked small and weak. He turned off the tap and sat down next to her. Both of them had their knees bent. Haley had her hands on the ground at her sides and Nathan picked up the one closest to him and gave it a squeeze. He kissed her on the temple before speaking.
"You got sick again?"
She nodded.
"You okay?"
Again, she nodded.
Nathan looked down at their hands. Their fingers were intertwined. A perfect fit.
"Hales. I don't know a lot, but I know some stuff. You've been sick for a few days now. When you're not sick, you're hungry. You're really tired."
"I know," she answered.
He paused and thought about how to continue. They had gotten so good at communicating with each other, so Nathan knew that they could have this conversation. They needed to have it.
"Hales. Are you late?"
Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to look at him. He could have sworn it looked like tears were forming.
"Yes," she whispered. "Sometimes, with birth control, it can make a woman irregular. I was thinking it might be that."
"Yeah, but with everything else, Hales." He rested his head on the top of hers. He had been thinking this for two days now. He hadn't expected to have this conversation with her while sitting on a bathroom floor in the middle of the night with him in just his boxers and her in a tank top and pajama pants. "Hales, do you think you might be pregnant?"
This time, a tear did escape. Nathan watched as it rolled down her perfect cheek, still pale from the affects of vomiting. "I might be," she answered. She finally looked at him completely. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. She cleared her throat. "I've been thinking about it. I just, I feel a little different. I've been getting sick, but I'm starving. I'm tired. At first, I thought it was just the wedding plans and the album. But, I'm late. So, putting it all together.
"I just… last time I wasn't even really looking for it. It was just… everything about it was different. This is so different. I hate not knowing. I hate having to wait until Tuesday before I can even call my doctor to find out for sure, Nathan."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and moved closer to her. "I guess if we went to one of those clinics that we'd be spotted. We don't really want that."
"No," she chuckled a little. "I've been nervous about it for a couple of days now. I thought of taking a test, but then I might have been seen. Then I wasn't sure I really wanted to take a test. What if it's just a bug? What if I'm just sick and I need an antibiotic or something? I just hate not knowing."
Nathan hated seeing her like this. He hated seeing her sick and he hated seeing her worried. He looked down at her and was glad that she was leaning on him. He was glad he finally said something and that she'd been thinking the same thing.
"Will you be okay if I'm gone for thirty minutes?"
Haley had closed her eyes again, but looked up at him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just gonna run down to the store. It'll be okay, I won't be spotted. We need to know, right? And if you're not, we need to know how to fix it. The sooner the better. Honestly, Hales, I've been thinking about this and it's been driving me crazy not knowing. I know it's driving you crazy not knowing."
She chewed on her lower lip. "I'll be fine, Nathan."
He kissed her before getting up to put some clothes on. While he was gone, Haley tried to keep her mind off of things. She was relieved that he had said it before she did. She was worried. She didn't know how he would take it. She still didn't know how he would react if there was a baby on the way. She wanted to have his baby. She wanted that so much, but they had discussed waiting. They were on birth control for a reason.
She couldn't keep her mind off of things. She paced. Walking back and forth, her mind was reeling. She could possibly be pregnant. She let Nathan go to the store to get a pregnancy test for himself. She knew they weren't always accurate and she wasn't going to believe it until she heard it from a doctor. She had told Nathan that she knew she was going to have to wait to call the doctor on Tuesday and that's what she was going to have to do.
She was on the balcony, watching the water. The moon reflected off of the surface. It was the only light that could be seen for miles. The fresh air was helping to calm her stomach and she felt a few pangs of hunger. Her hand had made it to her stomach, but she dropped it quickly. She was leaning against the railing of the balcony and chewing on her lip when Nathan returned.
"Hey," he said, getting her attention.
Haley turned around. She ran a hand through her hair. Her dark locks were longer than they usually were. She was going to get it trimmed about a week before the wedding. Haley wrapped her arms around herself.
"Amazing. A small town like Tree Hill has a twenty-four hour store," she commented.
"Yeah," Nathan said. "Grocery store with self-checkout." He removed the baseball cap from his head. He had worn it to try to conceal his identity. Luckily, no one had been around. He held up a plastic grocery bag. It had more than a pregnancy test in it. "I also got a few other things. If someone saw me, I wanted to have other things with me so they wouldn't notice the tests."
Haley had caught that extra S. "Tests?"
He nodded and looked nervous. "Yeah, I got four. I also got you a Snickers, since you love those, and I got Sam some of those Toy Story band aids he likes. I also got you some of that bottled iced tea you like in case you don't have to pee."
Despite the seriousness of their situation, Haley couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips. He'd thought of everything.
"Can I have the tea?" Haley stepped back into the room from the balcony.
Nathan pulled the tea from the bag, twisting the cap off, then handing it to her. He watched her as she brought the plastic bottle to her lips and took a drink. She was staring it him. Their eyes were locked on each other.
"You think I could have that Snickers, too?"
Nathan smiled and handed her the candy. He knew that Snickers were a weakness for her. She had a hard time resisting them. If she was pregnant, he wanted her to have everything she wanted to eat. Whatever foods she was craving or felt she needed, he would get them for her. He also knew that the past few days, after she'd gotten sick, she was hungry.
"You got four?" She spoke between bites of chocolate.
"I just… I just wanted us to be sure."
Haley sighed. She was now standing right in front of him. "Nathan, these aren't full proof. There's room for error."
"Yeah, but they're mostly accurate, right?" He wanted to know. He didn't want there to be any mystery.
"Nathan, back in high school, we had a scare. With Brooke. She doesn't like talking about it. I don't even know if she's told Julian and we don't mention it. She took three of those things. Three, Nathan. Two of them came out positive. Now, you know Brooke doesn't have a child. It's called a false positive. Peyton and I took her to the Planned Parenthood clinic. That test was negative. She wasn't pregnant.
"So, this might tell us something. But, Nathan it could also be wrong. So, either way, I'm going to call the doctor on Tuesday morning. First thing."
"Do you even want to take these, Hales?"
"Yeah. I actually do. I've been thinking about this for days and I need to feel like I'm doing something. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense since I don't even fully trust these things." She took another drink of her iced tea. Seeing what was left in the bottle, she saw that about three fourths of the bottle was still full. She threw her head back and drank it all quickly. She knew the faster she did, the quicker it would show up again and she could take those tests.
They were waiting for the first test. It was sitting on the bathroom counter and Nathan and Haley were sitting on the edge of the bathtub waiting. It would take five minutes for the results to show up. The test claimed it was 99% accurate when used correctly. Nathan looked at Haley. She was biting her lip again and clutching the edge of the bathtub. Her knuckles were white, her grip was so tight. They almost matched the fiberglass of the tub.
Nathan was nervous. He could feel his stomach twisting in knots. This was not how he imagined doing this with Haley. He wanted this with Haley. He wanted it so much. He didn't like that she seemed so nervous, though. This wasn't going as they'd planned. They hadn't talked about when they would consider having more children. They both wanted it. But, they weren't even married yet.
Ever since his accident, Nathan knew he could rely and hold onto Haley. They could hold onto each other. They were there for each other. It was such a comfort to him. She was such a comfort to him. She had shown him that he was a comfort to her, as well. With that in mind, Nathan took his hand from resting on his knee and laced his fingers with hers.
Haley looked at him and sighed. She offered a small smile, but it wasn't a real smile.
"So," Nathan felt the need to break the silence. It was as if he could hear a clock ticking, even though there wasn't a clock in the bathroom. "Was it like this with Brooke? The waiting?"
Haley shook her head. "No. Brooke was freaking out. I mean, visibly freaking out. She picked up the test every ten seconds to see what it said."
"What… what about the guy?"
"Football team. Not a bad guy; not a great guy. They both got wasted at a party. She wasn't sure if they were safe and then she was late. She didn't even tell him after she found out she wasn't pregnant."
Haley looked over to the counter, then at her cell phone. It was sitting on top of the closed toilet seat. They were using it for the clock. It hadn't changed much since they first started timing it.
Haley saw Nathan's brow furrowed. He looked deep in thought. She felt her stomach lurch, but not from nausea. She had been worried for days about how she would tell him about this. She was nervous.
"We didn't plan on this. I'm sorry."
Nathan focused his attention on her. He could see tears forming in her eyes once again. He lifted their hands that were joined and brought his other hand to them. Now, holding her hand in both of his, he brought it to his lips and placed a soft kiss on it. "What are you apologizing for?"
She thought before she answered him. She chose her words carefully.
"I'm taking these tests mostly because I need something to do, Nathan. I've been thinking about this for a few days now. We've been so busy. It seems like we're always so busy. I told you that Brooke was visibly freaking out. I've sort of been freaking out on the inside. You knowing helps a lot.
"I know I should have said something days ago. I really thought it was just the flu, or something. Then it kept on. And I'm late. And I've never done this before. I've never really thought that I might be… that I might be, well, pregnant. It wasn't like this last time at all.
"I won't believe it until I hear it from a doctor. I can't. I just need a doctor to tell me before I can be sure about it and before I react."
"You're not telling me what you're apologizing for, Hales."
She sniffled and a few tears escaped. "We didn't plan this. If we're pregnant, it's because of those days I didn't take my pill. We were supposed to talk about this and make this decision together. The pill isn't 100%, but it's supposed to work if you take it every day. I didn't take it every day. I just, I guess I assumed too much. I guess I wanted you too much. It was your birthday and I can't help how much I want you."
"I don't want you to help that," Nathan smiled.
Haley did smile, this time. She gave him a genuine smile before continuing. "Anyway. I should have thought of that. I should have, I don't know, gotten us some condoms or something for that night. We just didn't plan this. We were supposed to and we didn't. So, I'm sorry."
Nathan let go of her hand, placed his hands on either side of her face, and kissed her. He screwed his eyes shut tight, and kissed her. When he pulled away, he kept his hands on his face. "I'm not. Hales, I knew you weren't on the pill. I could have gotten condoms. I'm a big boy, I know how to protect us, but we both did it knowing what could happen. Even if we thought the pill would still be working.
"Hales, if there's a baby comin', that's okay. That's better than okay. Hales, I don't care if we didn't plan it. What's it matter? What matters is that we love each other and if we're gonna have a baby, it's because we love each other. I think it's great. I'm actually a little excited," he admitted.
Haley put her hand to his chest tentatively. "I love you so much. Just when I think you can't get any better, you do. But promise me something, Nathan."
"Anything. You know that."
"Don't get excited. I'm trying not to and I need you to try not to. Please, Nathan. Try not to get excited until we hear it from a doctor. Because if those say yes and the doctor tells us no… I don't want us to have that disappointment. I don't want that taken away from us. Can you do that for me?"
Nathan hadn't thought of it that way. He picked the tests that had the most accuracy, according to the boxes. As he'd made his trip to the store, he began thinking about how great it would be if he and Haley were going to be parents. He started imagining how beautiful she'd look when she was pregnant. He had seen pictures of her when she was pregnant with Sam, but there weren't very many from that time. He started thinking about doctor's appointments and how they would tell Sam.
Now that he was listening to Haley, he was wishing he hadn't thought of that. He didn't want to have that hope and then have it taken away. He thought if he did, he might be devastated. He didn't want to lose their child before even having him or her.
"Okay," he told her. "Okay. We'll wait for the doctor. First thing Tuesday morning?"
"First thing," she assured him. "I don't think I can handle waiting much longer."
"I love you, Hales. No matter what those tests say and what the doctor says. If we're not pregnant, then we'll just work on it when we decide we are ready. If we are having a baby, and we are ready. We'll have to be ready. I think we're ready. If we are, then you don't have anything to worry about. I'm here for everything," he reassured her.
She couldn't keep the tears that were softly coming. "I know that, Nathan. I know and that makes this so much easier than it would be otherwise. You being here makes all the difference and even though we didn't plan on this, the past few days since I first thought I might be pregnant, I knew that you'd be here for everything. I don't doubt you at all."
"I'm glad you don't." He brought her closer to him, his arm tightly and securely around her shoulders. He looked at her curiously when she began to move away from him.
"I have to go," she said. "The iced tea." She picked the phone off of the toilet seat without looking at it and removed the second test from its box. She read the instructions before taking the test. Any modesty was gone; she didn't mind that Nathan was in the bathroom while she peed on a stick.
"Five minutes," she told him, setting the test aside and flushing the toilet.
"What about the other one?"
"I don't have to pee. I'll wait for the third test."
"No. I mean what about the first one?"
During their conversation, both had forgotten to check the time. They were too immersed in talking.
Haley picked up her phone after washing her hands and this time actually looked at it. "It was ready three minutes ago."
Nathan stood up and stood next to her. Again, he took her hand in his. They looked at each other before Haley picked up the test and looked at it, together.
"Okay. Three more," he said.
"Three more," she repeated.
The waited. For the other three tests, they actually paid closer attention to the time so they would know when they were done. Within thirty minutes, they had taken four pregnancy tests. Three of them had the same result.
Notes: Yeah, I had to do that. I'll try to write the next chapter soon so you aren't left hanging too long. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I do read all of the reviews, so thanks for taking the time to say something. :)
