This is just a short little, pretty much fluff filled piece about our favorite family.

I know this is a little strange to put on a fanfiction, but I'm a huge basketball fan, and Kobe Bryant's death has hit a little hard. So I just wanted to put a quite from Season six of One Tree Hill to honor him. Thank you!

"Kobe and Lebron?" "Kobe and Lebron, let's do it!"

Chapter 68

Nathan pushed his hand through his hair, stepping into the house. He raised his eyebrows at the mess in the kitchen. Both he and Haley had been pretty busy lately so they'd been doing a lot of the things his lovely wife had fought against since Jamie was a toddler; pizza, takeout, name it and they've probably done it within the past week.

"Babe?" He called out, his eyebrows furrowing together when he didn't see her accompanying the mess.

A second later she popped her head out of the pantry, a smile on her face.

"Hi, honey!" She greeted him, before ducking back in.

"What's going on?" He questioned, clearing his throat.

"Well, I'm bringing cookies to Jamie's game tonight," She informed him, clearing her throat. "They're doing a party for parents and players afterwards."

"Yeah, I knew that... I just assumed we'd buy them and you'd resume your role as head of the PTA committee when things slow down," He said, chuckling quietly.

"Head of PTA committee is a little extreme. I'm barely involved, I just make cookies when I'm told," She responded, letting out a laugh.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, hanging up his keys and his jacket in the mud room, leaning against the countertop and staring into the pantry.

Now that he had a better look at her, he smiled slightly. Her hair was pulled back, and somehow she had flour across her neck and all over the shirt she was wearing.

"I'm cleaning out the pantry," She informed him, glancing over and shrugging her shoulders. "While the first two batches bake."

He turned his head to check the timer on the oven, before stepping over to the metal bowl with the remainder of the cookie dough in it.

"Don't even think about it, Scott," Haley said, clearing her throat.

He looked at her, chuckling quietly and resuming his previous spot. She had not even looked in his direction but knew what he was doing, of course.

"Why are you cleaning the pantry?" He asked her curiously, humming softly.

"We have so many things that are expired in here," She informed him, shrugging. She glanced in a box, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "And, our children leave empty boxes in here. Jamie, for sure."

He pulled a face, immediately recognizing the box that she tossed into the recycling him that was next to her. Yeah, he'd definitely taken the last thing out of it, but sure... Keep the blame on Jamie.

"Did you go to work today?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"I was going to go in, but your mom couldn't watch Brian so I just decided to stay home rather than bring him with me," She informed him, clearing his throat. "What did you do?"

"I flew to Charlotte, closed some deals then flew back," He informed her, chuckling quietly.

"How the hell did I not know you were flying to Charlotte today?" She asked him, glancing over at him and raising her eyebrows.

"I told you this morning, I'm pretty sure. I don't know, we've been busy," He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He smiled as she attempted to reach something on the shelf that was just a little bit too tall for her, letting out a laugh. "Need some help?"

"Please," She said, taking a step back and letting out a deep breath.

He hurried into the pantry, grabbing the empty plastic container that she was reaching for, holding it out to her.

"Hi," She hummed, standing on her toes and pressing a brief kiss to his lips.

"Hi," He responded back, smiling down at her. "What are we doing with this?"

"I used to keep this so organized, but then I got pregnant, and now it's been so crazy, I just stopped caring. So now, we're going back to organization," She informed him, dumping a box of various snacks for their kids into the plastic container, putting it on a lower shelf so their height deprived children (and Haley) could reach it.

He smiled, leaning down and kissing her once again. "Are they home?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"Brian is napping, Lydia is at a friend's, and Jamie is with Chase and Chuck," She said, clearing her throat.

"Which means we have all afternoon to get things organized again," He said, chuckling quietly.

"Exactly," She hummed happily, looking up at the shelves.

He let out a deep breath, following her eyes and humming softly. "Do you want me to help you here, or go somewhere else?"

"Honestly, I'd rather just have your company. I have a system, and you'd think after sixteen years of marriage, you would have it figured out but you don't," She said simply, squeezing his arm. "So just keep your distance. When I need your height, I'll call."

He laughed, leaning down and kissing her once more. "Sorry my mom bailed on you. I know you've been working hard. I can be home tomorrow."

"I think I'm going to stay home tomorrow too if you can be here. I feel like I haven't seen you in days," She laughed, shaking her head.

He nodded, smiling at her and taking his spot against the countertop again, watching her as she moved around inside the pantry.

Shortly after, the oven let out a 'ding' sounds, signifying the cookies were finished baking.

"I'll get it," He said, clearing his throat and grabbing the oven mitts, pulling the pans out of the oven, laying them side by side.

He quickly grabbed the spatula, spreading the cookies out on the counter, replacing them with dough, and sliding the pans back into the oven with ease.

"Thank you," Haley hummed, clearing her throat. "Do you think that maybe you can start cleaning up? I probably should have done that before I started on the pantry, but... I got distracted."

"Sure," He hummed, placing the lids on their respective containers that she'd used in the cookies.

"The cookies are probably cooled down now, Nathan. You can have one," Haley called out to him, letting out a deep breath.

Nathan hurried over, picking up the cookie quickly, and taking a bite.

What he was met with... Was not a chocolate chip cookie.

Oh hell. It was terrible.

"Haley," He said, forcing himself to swallow the bite that was in his mouth, looking down at the cookie in his hand.

"Yeah?" She replied, poking her head out of the pantry again.

"These are terrible," He said slowly, glancing over at her and shaking his head.

Maybe not the nicest way to put it... But hey, after sixteen years he felt like he could be brutally honest with her sometimes. And this was definitely one of those times.

"Excuse me?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. She stepped out of the pantry quickly, crossing her arms. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... There is something wrong with them," He said, pulling a face and holding it out to her. "You used way too much salt."

She stepped forward, taking it from him and taking a bite herself. She pulled a face similar to his, looking up at him quickly.

She had no choice but to agree with the slightly annoying comment from her husband. These were not good.

"What the hell went wrong?" She asked him, shaking her head. "I only used a little bit of salt..." She trailed off, quickly walking over to the countertop. She picked up the container labeled sugar, biting her lip. "Wait a minute..."

With a small scoop of her finger, Haley tasted the contents of the container, pulling a face and turning to look at him quickly. "Remember when I told you to go to the store last week because we were out of sugar? And I left this on the counter for you to put it in..."

Nathan knew exactly where this was going from the moment she picked up the dubbed "sugar" container. Before she even said anything, he knew what had happened.

"I, uh... Thought you told me to get salt?" He said, clearing his throat.

"So this is all salt... Well, actually it's salt with sugar at the bottom," She grumbled, looking at the contents of the container, shaking her head.

"I thought it was weird that you wanted me to fill that thing with salt... It seemed like a lot," He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at her.

She nodded at him, letting out a deep breath. "You know what? It's fine..." She said slowly, shaking her head. "Just- throw those away and get them out of the oven, okay?"

"Hales, I'm sorry," He said quickly, stepping forward. "I've been crazy busy..." He trailed off.

"I'm not mad at all, Nathan," She assured him, smiling slightly. "I just wish I could bring homemade cookies, but now we're going to have to stop at the store on the way there."

"I can run there right now and go get you some sugar," He said, gesturing towards the garage.

"No," She said quickly, stepping over to him. "Honestly, I'd rather have the time with you than homemade cookies, for sure."

He smiled, kissing her briefly. "If it makes you feel better..." He trailed off, winking at her. "I'll do this..."

She raised his eyebrows at him curiously, tilting her head backwards when he started to kiss her neck lightly.

A few seconds later, he'd licked the flour off her skin, and was currently fake gagging at the taste.

Haley started laughing, shoving on his chest lightly. "It does make the situation a little bit funnier."

"I don't know why I thought that was a good idea," He said, shaking his head and cringing. "Flour tastes disgusting. Even when it's on you."

She laughed, winding her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her again.

"Here's an idea... It feels like we haven't had the place to ourselves since before Jamie was born..." She hummed, stroking the back of his neck. "What do you say we make use of the time, and then get back to cleaning?"

"I need ten minutes," He joked, winking down at her.

"Ten minutes? That's longer than last time..." She hummed, laughing when he lifted her on the counter.

"You're not funny," He chuckled, kissing her quickly.

xxxx

"You know, a third kid just really made our life start to spin," Haley hummed quietly as she stood next to Nathan, toothbrush shoved in her mouth.

He raised his eyebrows, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll get the hang of it eventually," He mumbled, looking at her through the mirror.

"I know," She said, sighing softly. "I just really wanted to be able to bake cookies for Jamie tonight."

He chuckled quietly, dropping his arm around her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "We came home with no cookies, so I think store bought was alright," He informed her, tapping his toothbrush on the side of the sink, before running it under the water.

She mimicked his actions, before placing her toothbrush next to his. She cleared her throat, gesturing for him to face her. "Look at me."

He laughed, turning her face her, shrugging his shoulders. "What?"

"I just... I noticed a rash or something on your chest earlier..." She hummed, tugging down the collar of his shirt, stepping closer and examining his skin.

"Oh," He said, watching her in the mirror. "That's what you were thinking about?"

"No, I just noticed it and wanted to remember it later," She said, clearing her throat. "Anyways... I've just felt like things have been so crazy, I wanted Jamie to think he's important. He's been acting out lately."

"I don't think he feels unimportant, babe. I just think he's a teenager," Nathan said, glancing down at her.

"Here, take off your shirt. I'm going to put something on it," She mumbled, tugging on his sleeve lightly.

He tugged his shirt over his head, setting it on the countertop, shaking his head.

"I just don't know what to do, babe..." She said softly, looking up at him.

"Hales, I think you're making this into a bigger deal than it needs to be," He said, clearing his throat.

"We used to connect with him, Nathan. And now he just keeps his damn headphones in all the time," She said, shaking her head quickly.

He tucked her hair behind her ear, "He's a teenager, Haley. Come on... We were rebellious teenagers."

"We got married, I think that's a little bit different," She grumbled, turning her attention back to his chest.

"Look, babe... I don't know what to tell you. I've talked to him, but I'll talk to him again if you want?" He said, clearing his throat and shrugging.

"No..." She mumbled, shaking her head. "I just miss my baby."

He let out a laugh, leaning down and kissing her softly. "I don't think he wants you to call him that anymore," He informed her, shrugging his shoulders.

Haley shoved on his chest, glaring at him. "I don't think he cares about that, you ass."

"But he cares so much about homemade versus store bought cookies?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"You know what, I think you can figure your issues by yourself," She said, gesturing to his chest, turning and stepping out of the bathroom quickly.

"Wait, Hales..." He said, sighing when she closed the door behind her.

He pulled his shirt back on, chuckling quietly and glancing at the time on his phone.

After a moment, he stepped out of the bathroom, his eyes landing on her.

"Haley..." He trailed off, offering her a small smile.

"Oh, don't walk in here with your apology voice, I'm not mad at you," She laughed, rocking Brian lightly.

He stepped over to her, leaning down and kissing her softly, resting his hand on her cheek.

"Now I'm really not mad," She joked, winking at him and shrugging her shoulders.

He laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I love you, Haley James."

"I love you too," She said, letting out a deep breath.

"Relax for a little while, okay?" He said, nodding at her. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" She asked him, frowning slightly.

"I'm going to go do a little bit of work," He informed her, clearing his throat.

"What?" She asked, shifting Brian into one arm, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

"Sorry," He said, shrugging. "Maybe I'll hit you up for another seven minutes in heaven later?"

"Romance never dies," She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I'm giving you an hour, and then you better be in bed next to me. Not on the couch, not in your office."

"What about the hot tub?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"Nope," She said, nodding towards his side of the bed. "I won't settle for anything less."

He laughed, brushing his hand over Brian's head lightly, before kissing Haley's forehead and hurrying out of the room.

xxxx

'Where are you?'

Haley texted her husband, letting out a deep breath and leaning back against their bed, closing her eyes.

'Come downstairs and see ;)'

She looked at her phone, checking the time and shaking her head. She stood up slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She headed out of their bedroom and down the stairs slowly, looking over to the kitchen, where Nathan was standing.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, raising her eyebrows.

He looked up, nodding his head for her to come over to him.

She sighed softly, walking towards the kitchen, leaning against the counter and watching him.

"You're making cookies?" She asked him, smiling slightly.

He shrugged his shoulders, grinning at her. "Yep."

"Why?" She hummed out, watching as he began to put the dough on the pan.

He glanced up, clearing his throat. "Because... I don't know, I know you wanted them earlier, but it seemed important to you..." He trailed off.

She walked around the counter, smiling up at him and pulling him down into a kiss.

He raised his eyebrows, kissing her back quickly.

"What was that for?" He asked her softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"You're a good one, Nathan Scott," She said softly, giving his chest a light tap.

He smiled, leaning down and kissing her again. "It just seemed important to you, and it's not exactly what you wanted, but it's something," He said, clearing his throat.

"I just love you so much," She said, kissing his cheek. "So, so much."

He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I love you too," He hummed, grabbing the two pans and placing them in the oven, setting a timer on his phone.

She smiled, biting her lip as she watched him, raising her eyebrows at him when he turned back around to look at her.

"I just bought a new movie on iTunes, if you're interested..." He hummed, stepping back over to her, resting his hands on her waist.

"Absolutely," She hummed, smoothing her hands over his chest.

He smiled, tugging her with him over to the couch, turning on the TV.

After a moment, he'd connected the movie from his phone to the screen, clearing his throat.

Haley rolled her eyes and shoved him at the movie that played on the screen, laughing quietly. "Cheaper by the Dozen? Really?"

He shrugged, smirking at her. "What? It's a classic. Plus, it was only twenty-five dollars to buy both of them."

"Don't get any ideas, Scott," She laughed, cuddling into his side. "I'm not having twelve kids."

He chuckled, giving her an innocent look. "That was not my intention," He said, shaking his head. "I just happen to like these movies."

She smiled, shaking her head. "Whatever you say."

"Look, Hales, they have twelve kids. Twelve. And they make it work," He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "We have three, and struggle."

"This is a movie. Plus... They struggle big time, if I remember correctly," She laughed, rolling her eyes.

He kissed her head, letting out a deep breath. "My point is, if things can work out for a family with twelve kids, we can handle our three. And yeah, there are bumps in the road, of course. But I just think we're reading into all of it too much, which is making us stressed."

"And when you say 'we' you mean me," She said, letting out a deep breath.

"Not at all," He said, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure the rash on my chest is from stress," He laughed, shrugging.

"You don't get stressed about parenting unless you get asked about sex," She said, shaking her head.

"Oh, whatever," He laughed, rolling his eyes. "We're going to be fine. When we have the next one, we'll be pros at being outnumbered. And then when we have the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one-"

"Let me guess, you were going to stop at a dozen," She laughed, shaking her head.

"No, I was going to stop a thirteen because I think we can do better," He joked, winking at her.

"Okay, if you want thirteen kids then I want thirteen kids," She said, resting her head back against his shoulder.

He froze, looking down at her with raised eyebrows. "Thirteen? You want to have thirteen monsters?"

She laughed, looking up at him once again. "No, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to shut you up," She said, kissing his cheek.

He let out a breath of relief, looking back at the screen. "Shhh. I'm watching the movie."

She laughed, laying her head back down on his shoulder.

It wasn't long before they heard the stairs creak as someone stepped down them, both of their heads looking over quickly.

"Oh, uh, sorry... I was just coming to get a drink," Jamie said, clearing his throat.

Haley smiled at him, nodding slowly. "Dad made cookies, if you want to wait up for them. They should be done soon."

"Really?" Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows at them. "Isn't it like... Ten-thirty?"

Nathan glanced at his watch, shrugging his shoulders. "It's the weekend. You might as well stay up," He said, humming softly.

"Okay," Jamie said, heading into the kitchen, returning shortly with a glass of water, sitting down next to Haley.

A few minutes later, another set of footsteps started down the stairs, causing Nathan and Haley to look at each other with small smiles.

Lydia appeared a moment later, her hair a mess, but a big smile on her face.

"Hi!" She greeted, rushing over and taking a seat next to Nathan without a moment of hesitation.

Nathan smiled, rubbing her back lightly and looking down, raising his eyebrows. "What are you doing awake?"

"I heard Jamie!" She hummed, resting her head against Nathan.

He laughed, looking at Haley and shrugging his shoulders.

When the credits started to roll, Nathan looked over and made eye contact with Haley, a smile on his face.

Jamie was asleep against her shoulder, Lydia asleep against his.

"Well? What's the plan?" He asked her quietly, raising his eyebrows.

Haley smiled at him, looking at Jamie, and then Lydia, and then finally back at him before speaking.

"Let's just stay here for awhile."