Chapter Forty Six

Brooke knocked on Haley's bedroom door and waited for an answer. Nothing. She knocked on the door again. "Haley, it's your matron of honor. Is the bride ready to get married?" She frowned as she heard silence. "Haley, are you in here?" she asked as she turned the doorknob. She pushed the door open and she poked her head in the room. To her surprise, Haley was nowhere in sight. "Haley?" she called as she walked more into the bedroom. She glanced into the bathroom, but it was empty. Brooke rushed out of the bedroom and she bumped into Penny and Cassie. "Girls, have you seen Haley this morning?" Sadly, Penny and Cassie shook their heads.

"Maybe she took Cinnamon for a walk?" Cassie suggested. "And she forgot to leave a note?"

Brooke wanted to believe that was the reason for her disappearance, but she had a feeling she was wrong. "Go downstairs and eat your breakfast. We have a busy day ahead of us," she instructed. The girls turned around and disappeared down the stairs. Brooke pulled out her cell-phone and called Haley. She waited impatiently to hear her voice on the other end. To her relief, Haley picked up the phone. "Hey, where are you? Are you okay?"

There was silence before Haley responded. "Honestly, I don't know," she replied. "I just need some time alone."

Brooke wanted to respond, but Haley had already hung up. Brooke immediately grew concerned. She hurried down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen, where Quinn was eating breakfast while Karen was feeding little Bella in her high chair. They stopped their conversation as soon as they saw Brooke's worried face. "I just got off the phone with Haley and she didn't sound like herself. And it wasn't nerves. It was more like she was calm."

"Haley's not upstairs?" Karen asked, surprised. "Did she say where she was?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, she just said she needed time alone. She hasn't been herself lately. This is not the day she should be taking off. This is her wedding day. She's getting married this afternoon." She had a horrible thought. "Oh no!" she moaned. "What if she's too scared to get married? I know she loves Nathan and Tristan and Cassie, but what if she feels like she can't commit to marriage?"

Karen tried to calm her down. "Brooke, slow down. Everything's fine." Brooke wished she could believe that. Karen got up from her chair. "I'll go see what is going on with my daughter." Brooke gave her a confused look. "Don't worry. The bride will be at the church on time," she promised before she grabbed her purse and she headed towards the front door.

It didn't take long before Karen arrived at her destination. She climbed out of her car and she went to the front door. It wasn't surprising to find the door unlocked. She went through the empty building and up the stairs to the second level. She continued onto the roof. To her relief, she found her daughter looking down on the side of the building, water balloon in hand.

Karen spoke, making Haley jump. "Wow, I haven't seen you prepare to throw water balloons down on unsuspecting pedestrians since you vented your anger out about not being able to have children. And here, I thought my daughter would be happy to be getting married today. What's going on with you? Have you been here all night?"

"I couldn't sleep last night. So I finally gave up. I came here and watched the sunrise," Haley replied as she played around with the water balloon. Karen noticed there was a bucket filled with water balloons nearby. "I forgot how much I missed being up here. Look at the view." Karen smiled as she looked at the scene. It certainly felt like they were on top of the world, looking over the roofs of the church and businesses nearby. Far in the distance, they could see the bridge that led visitors into the town of Tree Hill.

"It is beautiful," Karen agreed. She turned back to her daughter. "Although, it still doesn't explain why you're throwing water balloons on people."

"Because I'm once again getting my hopes up that I will be able to have a baby of my own," Haley said before she dropped the water balloon down below and it splashed onto the sidewalk. "Once again, my body is playing games with me." She took another water balloon from the bucket and angrily threw it down hard against the concrete, leaving a large water puddle near her feet. "And I don't know if I even want a baby right now."

Karen stopped her daughter before she could grab another water balloon. "Honey, what are you talking about?"

Haley let out a heavy sigh. "As you know, I haven't been feeling well. Too sick for longer than I should be. So I took a pregnancy test," she said. "Or two." Karen waited for more, but there was silence. She waited patiently for her daughter to say something. "And they were both positive, but it's obvious a mistake. I can't be pregnant." Tears began to form in her eyes. "At the same time, I want to be pregnant. I want to have Nathan's baby. I want to give Tristan and Cassie a baby brother or sister. I've been dreaming about this for so long that it can't be real. It's medically impossible for me to be pregnant right now, right?"

Karen gave her daughter a gentle smile as she embraced her in a comforting hug. "No, I don't believe it's medically impossible. I believe it's a miracle. A wonderful miracle. You're having a baby." Haley just nodded. Karen pulled away from her daughter. "Well, we'll have a lot to celebrate today."

Haley shook her head. "No, I don't want anyone to know yet. It's too soon. I don't want the kids to find out before the second trimester. I don't even want to tell Nathan yet." Her mother wanted to interrupt, but Haley was ready to fight back. "I'm still processing it myself. Let's just concentrate on the wedding today and focus on the baby later."

Karen let out a sigh. "Alright, but there won't be a wedding unless I get the bride to the church." Haley was about to grab the bucket when her mother grabbed it first. "I think you've had enough." Haley pretended to look disappointed. "Now call your matron-of-honor and tell her we're on our way before she has a heart attack."

Haley obeyed her orders. Brooke was relieved to hear her voice. However, Haley could sense something else had gone wrong. "Brooke, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to remain calm herself. "What happened?"

There was silence before Brooke spoke. "The pastor called and told me he can't make it," she told her. "He said he had a family emergency and he had to leave town. I'm trying hard to find a replacement. Don't worry. There's no way in hell I'm going to let a missing bride, pastor or ring stop you two from getting married."

Haley caught her words and she could hear Brooke quietly curse herself. "The ring? You lost the ring?" she exclaimed. "How could you lose the ring?"

"The boys were practicing with the ring," Brooke explained. "They put it back in the box and they put it on the table. When they came in the room, it was gone."

Haley thought for a moment. "The boys?" she repeated as she began to relax more. She realized exactly who took the ring. "Brooke, did you check with Noah?" she asked, who was known for hiding things. There was silence as Haley waited for an answer.

"Oh my god!" Brooke exclaimed in surprise.

Haley smiled in satisfaction as Brooke was able to understand why Haley brought Noah up. "Keep me posted." She hung up the phone as Karen looked at her curiously. Her smile soon faded. "I might not be getting married after all. The pastor had to leave for a family emergency and he can't marry us. And Noah hid the wedding ring." Haley stared at the bucket of water balloons. Karen gave her a comforting hug. "What else can go wrong?"

"Nothing else will go wrong," Karen assured her. "Even if we can't find another pastor in time, you and Nathan will still get married. I don't care if I have to get ordained and marry you myself. You will walk down the aisle to your husband and children."

Haley looked at her. "You would do for me? You would get yourself ordained as a minister and marry us?"

Her mother gave her a wide smile. "Of course I would." Haley smiled in return as they headed back to the stairs to lead them down to the first floor.

When they arrived at the church, everyone was still preparing themselves for the wedding. Brooke was still on the phone, trying to find a replacement. However, Karen gently took the phone from her and told her to go and get ready. Brooke wanted to protest, but Karen was firm. "There's no need to search for a replacement. I'll do it."

Brooke let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Karen. You're the best. But you should be in the room with Haley. After all, you're the mother of the bride. You need to be in there so she doesn't become a runaway bride." She looked at Haley. "Where were you anyway?"

Karen spoke before Haley could respond. "You'll have plenty of time to talk once you two get changed into your beautiful dresses. Now go. I'll worry about the minister." Haley and Brooke went their separate ways.

Once Haley was finished, she couldn't help but look into the mirror at her wedding dress. She still couldn't believe she was getting married to Nathan today. It didn't feel real. Neither did her pregnancy. Was her mother right? Is the wish she had wanted for so long finally coming true? Was there really a baby growing in her stomach?

Haley's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door. It wasn't a surprise when Brooke poked her head in the room and closed the door behind her. She gave her friend a wide smile as she approached the bride. "Hales, you are the most beautiful bride."

Haley smiled in return. "Thank you. You look amazing in red."

Brooke smiled proudly. "Well, I'm glad to see you aren't a runaway bride." She became serious. "But I am still worried about you. Is everything okay with you? You haven't been yourself lately." Haley was quiet, not wanting to tell her about the positive pregnancy test. "Does this have anything to do with you being pregnant?"

Haley gasped in surprise. "How did you find out?"

"After thinking about it, I realized there was another possibility about why you weren't feeling well," Brooke replied. "And my suspicions were confirmed when I saw your positive pregnancy test in your bathroom. The sink isn't exactly the best place to hide your pregnancy test."

Haley managed a laugh. "Well, I wasn't exactly trying to hide it. I was just trying to believe it." Brooke embraced her in a tight hug. "Now you can't tell anyone. I don't want anyone to know until I go to the doctor and get it confirmed. Not even Nathan."

"How are you going to explain when you don't take a sip of the wine during the toasts?" Brooke asked. She smiled proudly as she spoke her next words. "Speaking of the toasts, I have an excellent speech prepared. Very sweet and sentimental. By the way, you were right. Noah did hide the ring so that problem is solved."

"Now we just need someone to marry us," Haley said with a sigh.

"It's being handled. Don't worry," Brooke assured her as she gave her a wide smile. "You should be happy. You're getting married." Haley tried to hold back her happy tears, but it wasn't working. Brooke was still smiling, but tears were forming in her eyes as well. "Looks like we're going to have to redo both our make-up." Haley nodded as Brooke grabbed a tissue from the tissue box on the dresser. There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" she called.

Karen and Deb both came into the room. They had wide smiles on their faces as they admired the bride. They gave her compliments before Deb spoke. "Haley, you don't have to worry about the pastor anymore. We've found the perfect volunteer to marry you. Actually, he volunteered once he heard about your dilemma."

"Who is it?" Haley asked curiously, wondering who was so gracious to volunteer to marry her and Nathan.

"It's my wonderful husband Jake," Peyton, who was wearing her bridesmaid's dress, said as she joined them. "Quinn is wondering when she could take pictures of the wedding party. Wow, Haley, you look beautiful."

Haley smiled proudly again. "Thanks, Peyton. Tell Quinn we'll be out in a few minutes." She was going to thank Jake later. Peyton nodded before she disappeared out of the room. Brooke looked at her. "See, I told you everything would work out. Now let's get you ready for your wedding." Haley just nodded one last time before Brooke got to work fixing Haley's make-up.