Wrote this one pretty quick! Enjoy:)

Chapter 46

Haley exited the bathroom, shoving her earring through her ear, looking at the man sitting on her bed with his laptop in his lap.

"How are you feeling?" She asked him, humming softly.

Nathan and Nick had been staying at her house for the week, and it had been a little hectic.

Nathan's knee had still been giving him some trouble, so she'd been taking the kids places while he stayed home.

She'd just dropped the kids off at school, came home and showered and got ready for the day. She had a meeting with her publishing company, and the positive to Nathan's hurt knee was he couldn't distract her.

"Nathan..." She called his name when he didn't respond, his eyes still glued to his computer.

"Hm?" Nathan replied, glancing at her for a second, before looking back at the laptop.

"How are you feeling?" She asked again.

Still no response. She'd learned this week that Nathan's work absolutely consumed him. When he was working, he was always working.

"Nathan," She called again, a little more forcefully, shaking her head.

"Yeah, babe?" He asked, looking over at her, closing his laptop slightly.

"I asked you how you were feeling," She said, standing in front of the full body mirror in her bedroom, adjusting her shirt.

"Um... I said it was feeling quite a bit better yesterday, but I think it's worse today," He said, nodding his head.

Haley turned to him, raising her eyebrows. "Really?"

Nathan shrugging, adjusting his knee slightly and wincing. "Yeah, it's pretty sore."

"I'm sorry, baby," She said sweetly, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to him. "Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"That's okay," He said, smiling at her.

Haley pushed his basketball shorts further up his leg, looking at his knee.

It did still look swollen, but not nearly as much as it had the week before.

"Well let me adjust your pillows," She said, standing up, resting her hand on his shoulder and leaning him forward, fluffing up the pillows behind his back.

She glanced around the room slightly as she did it, sighing.

It was a mess. Messier than it had probably ever been.

And it was all Nathan. He'd stayed here six days. How was it so messy?

His room was never this messy when she spent the night there.

And she had a hard time believing a mess like this could be caused by an injured knee.

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows and looking up at her.

"Yeah," She said, scratching his shoulder lightly, before leaning him back against the pillows. "For some reason I thought that you staying here would result in your being shirtless more often," She hummed, winking at him.

"Do you think I spend my whole day shirtless at work?" He joked, laughing.

Haley smiled slightly.

She could not believe how much Nathan worked. How did he even have time for her throughout the day? Or time to do anything? How did he ever take days off? And he was very strict on no distractions.

"I was hoping," She teased, walking to the opposite side of the bed and grabbing her watch off the nightstand, putting it on her wrist.

"Sorry to disappoint," He hummed, setting his laptop on the bed next to him.

"Maybe you should go back to the doctor," She suggested, nodding at him.

"You know what he said, Hales. Don't strain it too hard and I'll be fine. Just take it one day at a time," Nathan reminded her, shrugging.

"I know, it's just... If you're feeling worse..."

"Not worse. Just still hurts," He said, sighing softly. "I just need a couple more days and I'll be fine."

Haley decided not to press the matter further. She didn't want to push him.

"You know... I have a little time before my meeting," She said, walking back around to the side of the bed he was laying on, sitting across his lap carefully.

Nathan grinned, glancing at his watch. "Well it just so happens I have some time to spare," He said, resting his arm on her legs, gripping her thigh lightly, while the other held onto her waist.

A couple days ago she never would have been able to do this to him because his knee. Something was different.

Haley smiled, grabbing onto his face and kissing him quickly.

Nathan didn't hesitate to return we kiss, holding onto her tightly.

Haley deepened the kiss, other hand lightly running through his hair.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Nathan pulled back at the vibration in his pocket, opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm guessing that's your phone," She said, sighing softly.

He laughed, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I just remembered I had a call."

"Right," She said, standing up carefully.

"I'm sor-"

"Not as sorry as I am probably," She mumbled, stepping into her messy closet, grabbing a black three-quarter sleeve blazer out, and walking back in front of the mirror.

Nathan sent her an apologetic look in the mirror, answering the phone. "This is Nathan Scott."

Haley slid the blazer around her shoulders, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt to match the blazer. She entered the closet again, grabbing some heels and putting them on.

She entered the bathroom once again to touch up her lipstick, sighing at the mess that continued into that room. She didn't want to make Nathan feel bad by cleaning up after him, but come on.

She glanced over at Nathan, who was busy on a call, before closing the bathroom door.

She quickly began to clean up the counter top, scrubbing toothpaste, gel, and whatever else off the countertop. She quickly began to swipe his things off the countertop and into the drawer, picking up his tooth brush that was not in her nice little tooth brush holder, and sticking it next to hers.

Was that so hard? No. Not at all.

She then turned and grabbed his towel off the ground, hanging it up quickly, rolling her eyes slightly.

His house was fairly clean. As clean as someone with a kid can let it be. But his bedroom was always pretty clean.

She exited the bathroom, waving at him.

He sent her a questioning look.

"I have a meeting, Nathan," She reminded him as if she had not told him about it less than ten minutes ago, last night, and a few days prior.

He tapped his lips lightly, smiling at her and holding the speaker on his phone away.

She sighed, leaning on the bed and kissing him briefly. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm meeting Quinn for lunch at eleven."

He gave her a thumbs up, waving at her.

Haley nodded, leaving the room quickly.

xxxx

"He's driving me crazy, Quinn!" Haley told her older sister, pressing her hands to her face and sighing.

Quinn let out a laugh, "I'm sorry, Hales."

"Is that's terrible?" Haley asked, dropping one hand so she could see Quinn's reaction.

"Not at all, Haley," Quinn hummed, squeezing her hand lightly. "You haven't lived with anyone else in awhile. It's a learning curve."

"At this rate I don't know if we'll ever be able to move in together," Haley said, breaking off a piece of bread, shoving it in her mouth.

"When I told Clay that he was staying with you, he started laughing and said good luck to her, Nathan is a slob," Quinn said, shrugging.

"How did I not know this about him?" Haley said, frowning.

"You think you know someone until they live with you, and then you really get to know them," Quinn laughed, leaning back.

"He puts stuff next to where it's supposed to go," Haley informed her, scowling. "I've watched him play basketball. I know if he really tried, he'd be able to get his clothes in the hamper. It's not that hard to hang up a towel. And he leaves drawers open! You know how much I hate drawers being left open. Not even Macey leaves drawers open, Quinn."

"Yikes," Quinn replied, "Maybe you should order something a little stronger."

"I'm alright," Haley mumbled, rubbing her temples. "I just need someone to complain to."

"It's okay, I get it," Quinn laughed, "You remember when I moved in with Clay? We would argue about everything. He liked his shoes on the shelves, I liked them on the floor. He wanted things in this drawer, I wanted them in that drawer. It's all about compromise and learning to just deal with the other person on some things, and them just learning to deal with you."

"You know, Brooke would leave her dishes in the sink for days. It would drive me crazy but I'd just make her do them. Her room was messy but I didn't have to share the space so I didn't care," Haley mumbled, sighing. "Peter insisted on hand washing the dishes because he needed to know they were clean. Nathan... God, I just don't know what to do. His room is always pretty clean."

"Well, Haley... How often do you spend the night there?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Every other weekend," Haley said, shrugging slightly.

"And it's pretty set?"

"I guess so, I mean occasionally we'll stay the night there during the week, but I pick up Nick a lot so we're already at my house," She said, leaning back.

"So he cleans up every other weekend, Haley. Come on," Quinn laughed. "You're smart, you should've got that one."

"Oh my gosh you're right! He's a slob!" Haley gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh... What do I do?"

"Well, right now he has a hurt knee-"

"Oh that is a whole new conversation. I think he's faking. I mean, we joked that he'd fake last weekend, but I didn't think he'd actually do it."

"Hold on. What makes you say that?" Quinn questioned her, frowning.

"I don't know, I took the kids to school and when I got back something was different in the kitchen. I don't know what it was, but something changed. He's been walking from my bed to the living room but usually he has to stop there and sit on the couch for a couple of hours before he walks back. But today, the kitchen had changed. I can't tell you how but I could sense it."

"You sound kind of paranoid," Quinn informed, picking up her water and taking a drink.

"Do I, Quinn? Do I? My boyfriend is a slob, he's been getting better every day until randomly today his knee was worse. I suggested we go back to the doctor and he deflected that quickly," Haley leaned forward, resting her head in her hand. "What do I do?"

"You could just talk to him," Quinn suggested, biting her lip.

"I don't want to make him feel bad. What if he's not faking? What if he's not messy and he just can't clean up because it hurts?" Haley asked, letting out a deep breath.

"Who knew taking care of Nathan would be harder than taking care of Nick?" Quinn laughed.

"Nick has been my sanity. He's always helpful, and teaches Macey how to do her homework."

"Maybe you should get Nathan a wheelchair."

"Yeah, okay," Haley grumbled, pushing her food around on her plate. "He's driving me crazy, Quinn. And I love him so much, but you know how I hate a mess."

"So clean it up, make him feel bad."

"I don't want him to think that I'm going to clean up after him. He's a grown man."

"Something tells me Nathan won't just expect you to clean up after him. I also think that maybe you could just talk to him," Quinn said again, laughing.

"His desk is clean at work. At least the outside is, I've never looked in the drawers," She mumbled, shaking her head.

"Clay said that Nathan would make him switch rooms with him if Nathan brought a girl back to their apartment in college," Quinn said, clearing her throat. "I'm sure he's better than a college student, but... Well, you could always call the ex wife."

"No, I can't call Katherine on this. She can't help me deal with Nathan. That would be weird," Haley said, looking up at Quinn. "My room has been sparkling for years. He gets toothpaste on the bathroom counter, Quinn."

"Okay, Hales. Just stop being so nice. He won't want to keep staying there if you stop taking care of him."

"I love him, Quinn. What else am I supposed to do when he's in pain?" She countered.

"I don't know, Haley. If you think he's faking then find out for yourself."

"I sound like an awful girlfriend, don't I? I think my boyfriend is faking an injury because he wants to keep staying with me."

"You don't sound awful," Quinn assured her, laughing. "He shouldn't be lying to you."

Haley sighed, shrugging. "Maybe I wouldn't be so bugged if he wasn't working so much. I had no idea how busy he actually was. I kind of thought he just messed around with Clay all day until he had a meeting. But now I don't feel like there are enough hours in a day for him. What do I even do? How does he even make time for me?"

"He makes time for you because you're important to him," Quinn hummed, winking at her. "Just distract him from his work."

"He doesn't want me to distract him. We haven't even..." Haley trailed off, remember the surrounding. "Since the beginning of our trip to Tree Hill."

"What?" Quinn said, frowning. "Aren't you supposed to be all over each other still? You've been going out for what? A month?"

"Well, he has a hurt knee," Haley said, shrugging. "Like, every movement is painful to him. I've barely been able to touch him until the last couple of days."

"That kind of makes me think he's not faking..." Quinn said, shaking her head.

"You would think," Haley mumbled, sighing. "I think he's just smart."

"Do you not want him there?"

"It's not that," Haley said quickly. "We just... We had a schedule. Tuesdays and Thursdays are open for spending the night. Not every week, but at least one of those days during the week. And then pretty much every Friday night and Saturday night. The every night thing is just not good for Nick and Macey."

"And he's messy," Quinn added.

"So, so messy," Haley grumbled, sighing.

"Maybe you just need to get some," Quinn hummed, laughing.

"That could be it too," She said, taking a bite of her salad. "He's so busy though, I can't even cut in there. That week off didn't help his schedule. He's on his phone from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed."

"Clay's busy too, Hales... I get it," Quinn assured her, smiling slightly. "Trust me, I understand. I mean, we're not exactly in a new and exciting relationship, but... It's tough."

"And you're pregnant," Haley said, gesturing to Quinn. "How? Why?"

"How, why, what?" Quinn laughed, blinking at her.

"They're so busy," Haley said, rubbing her neck.

"You should have seen them when they're traveling," Quinn replied, sighing. "It's just because they took the past week off and they have to play catch up."

"I guess I've just never been with him all day," She said, shrugging. "I have, but usually it's all laughing and making out, not much work."

"Don't worry, Hales. It will all be okay," Quinn laughed.

"I just don't know how we'll ever be able to move in together with his this week has been," Haley said, rubbing her forehead.

"You will," Quinn laughed, "Trust me. In a couple of days, you are going to go back to totally blissed out by Nathan Scott. Love isn't always easy, you know that. People still have flaws."

"I know that. I was just expecting things to be different."

"When you guys move in together, you'll get in the groove of things."

Quinn's reassurance actually helped, surprisingly.

Haley still felt upset that Nathan was driving her crazy. She didn't want to be annoyed at him. Not even a little bit.

It was just a lot.

She still had no clue what to do about any of this. Did she tell him? Did she suck it up for a couple more days?

xxxx

Haley stepped through the front door, blinking in surprise when she saw Nathan sitting on the couch.

"I knew it!" She said, pointing at him. "Home earlier than you thought I'd be, hm?"

Nathan glanced over at her from his laptop, tilting his head to the side. "You knew what?"

"I knew you were faking, Nathan! Yesterday you needed my help to walk into the living room," She said, scowling at him. "You're faking!"

Nathan blinked in surprise, clearing his throat. "Uh-"

"Don't try and get out of this one, Nathan. You're faking a knee injury so I'll take care of you," She said, sighing. "I knew it. Quinn thought I was crazy, but I knew something was different in my kitchen this morning."

"Haley-"

"No, no. You've been lying to me," She said, hanging up her keys, pulling of her jacket and putting it in the front closet, entering the living room and crossing her arms. "Well it's not going to work on me anymore, Nathan."

"Haley," Nathan said, lifting up something that was sitting next to him, holding it for her to see.

Her eyes narrowed in on the long, wooden cane in his hand.

"I had Clay bring it to me on his way to work this morning," Nathan said slowly.

Haley felt dumbfounded, staring at the object in his hand, and looking at his face.

"You... What?"

"It's a cane. To help me move around a bit easier," He said, nodding. "Did I move something in your kitchen?"

"Well... I... Don't know," She said, scrunching up her face.

Nathan sighed, using the cane to push himself up. "You thought I was lying?"

"Um... No?"

"Hales..." He sighed, scratching his neck. "Why don't you take me home?"

"What? No way," She said, shaking her head. "Sit down, Nathan."

"I'll sit down in a second," He said, walking over to her slowly. "Hales..."

"It's nothing, Nathan. I'm sorry," She said, embarrassment seeping into her body at her wrongful accusation.

"What made you think that?" He frowned, resting his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"I don't know. I just didn't know about the cane and I knew someone had been in the kitchen while I was gone. I thought you were pretending to be hurt because you liked me taking care of you."

He cleared his throat, sighing softly. "Maybe I should go. Give you a little break. I can probably have Clay pick me up."

"No, Nathan, don't," She said, pointing back to the couch. "Let's talk there."

Nathan carefully walked over to the couch, sitting down again, keeping his leg stretched out.

Haley sat down next to him, crossing her legs. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," He assured her, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I've been a burden."

"Not a burden," She corrected, rubbing his back. "I just had a moment."

"Are you sure it hasn't been brewing?" He asked her, frowning.

"No," She said, scratching up and down his back. "I've just been worried about you, and I'm stressed."

"I'm sorry," He said, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "But I have my trusty came now so hopefully I can be less stressful."

"Can we just make out for like ten minutes? Or spend time with each other?" She asked him, laughing. "I really think that would take off the edge, and you've been so busy..."

Nathan looked at his laptop rested on the coffee table. He leaned forward carefully, typing for a second, before closing it. "I'm all yours for the next... Thirty to forty minutes."

"Nathan, I'm really sorry... I feel awful."

"I get it, Haley," He mumbled, squeezing her leg lightly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"No?" He laughed, grabbing the hem of his shirt and tossing it to the side. "Does this help?"

Haley laughed, nodding her head. "It does, oddly enough."

"Come here, you. Just watch the knee. Or don't. You can see if I'm really faking or not," He teased, pushing her blazer off her shoulders and tossing it in the same direction of his shirt, kissing her quickly.

Now that was one mess she didn't mind cleaning up.

xxxx

"Macey, just finish up your homework, please," Haley said, leaning against the table and looking down at her daughter's homework. "Please," She emphasized.

Nathan had gone to bed about twenty minutes ago, but her and Nick were still trying to get Macey to finish up her spelling homework.

"I don't want to," Macey groaned, picking up her pencil and dropping it on the table again.

"Macey, come on," Nick urged, laughing. "If you do your homework tonight, you won't have to worry about it all weekend."

"I'll do it on Sunday night," Macey said, shrugging.

"If you get your homework done, you two can watch a movie tonight and sleep on the bean bags," Haley said, nodding at them. "Just get it done, Macey. I'm tired of asking."

Haley felt exhausted from the week. She was running thin on patience with this conversation, even after her refreshing time with Nathan this afternoon. Even if she'd only been able to spend 38 uninterrupted minutes with him, it was still nice. Nice enough for her to overlook the mess when she helped him back to the bedroom, grabbed her laptop and went into the living room to do work.

She still felt ashamed for thinking Nathan was lying about being in pain. But he found it funny, which was nice.

"Well I'm tired of telling you that I don't want to do it," Macey said, crossing her arms.

"You know what? That's it," Haley said, scowling. "That's it. Nick, you're going to sleep out on the couch tonight, while Macey sleeps in her room. You two aren't getting enough sleep, and this is the only way I can think to fix it."

"No!" Macey argued, frowning. "Nick keeps the high monsters away, and I keep the low monsters away," She hummed, referring to the top bunk and the bottom bunk.

"Well then you better start doing your homework before I get to five. One, two, three-"

Macey picked up the pencil once again, beginning to speed write the spelling words.

Nick looked up at Haley and smiled. "Can I pick the movie?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You sure can, Nicholas. Why don't you go pick one right now and Macey will finish up real quick and we'll meet you down there?"

Nick hopped off his chair, running down to the basement.

"Is Nathan still hurting?" Macey asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes," Haley said, sighing.

"It's my fault," Macey mumbled, not looking up from her paper.

Haley looked from the paper to her daughter quickly, sitting down an shaking her head. "It's not your fault. Why do you think it's your fault?"

"I wanted him to play," Macey said, shrugging. "And he got hurt."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Haley sighed, rubbing Macey's back. "It's not your fault. I promise. It's not anyone's fault. He just had a hurt knee."

"I feel like it's my fault," Macey said, finishing off her spelling words, sighing loudly.

"No way," Haley urged, kissing her head. "He's already feeling better. You saw him walking around today."

"Yeah..." Macey trailed off, sniffling quietly. "Nick thinks it's my fault."

"Did he say that?" Haley asked, brushing her fingers through Macey's hair.

"Well- no," Macey said, "But he does."

"No he doesn't, Mace," Haley assured her quickly. "It's not your fault. Nathan doesn't think it's your fault."

Macey sighed, pushing the paper over to her.

Haley read over the words, before placing it back in the homework folder, zipping it into her backpack that was hung on the back of the chair.

"You really don't think it's because of me?"

"Not at all, my love," Haley said, standing up and grabbing onto Macey's hand. "Let's go watch what Nicky picked, okay? Tomorrow you can pick."

Macey held onto her hand tightly, nodding and following her down the stairs.

After about half an hour, Haley noticed that both of the kids were sleeping.

She quietly shut off the TV, smiling down at them.

She walked up the stairs slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She let out a sigh as she reached the top of the stairs. Heading into the same mess she'd been dreading all day.

Haley stopped outside of the bedroom door, pushing it open.

What she saw inside surprised her more than anything else from this past week.

Nathan was balancing on his cane, lighting what looked to he the final candle to finish a lit up room.

"Nathan... What?" She asked, looking around, her eyes cascading down to the floor. The clean floor.

Nathan smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"You cleaned," She said, looking up at him quickly and smiling.

"You see, that reaction says a thousand words," He laughed, carefully walking over to her.

"You shouldn't have done this," She said, gesturing around. "Your knee-"

"Will be fine," He mumbled. "I took some pain killers in preparation."

"What is all this?" She asked, biting her lip.

"You seemed a little stressed, so I decided to pick up my sloppy mess and offer you a no strings attached back massage."

"I think that just took my breath away," She laughed, resting her hand over her heart. "I can't believe you did this."

"Hey, you've been doing a lot for me the past few days. And you probably will continue to do so for a few more, if you're not ready to kick me out."

"Oh, I think I can handle it," She said, resting her hand on his shoulder, standing on her toes and kissing him quickly.

Nathan laughed, "Well I'm good to go anytime. I know I can be a bit much."

"Oh, Nathan, you're-"

"Don't lie to me, Haley. I'm the liar in this relationship," He teased her, gesturing to the turned down bed. "I believe I made a promise."

"How are you even going to do this?" She asked him, grabbing the end of her shirt.

"You know... I'm just going to sit by you with my bad knee away from you, and I'll just... Do my best," He laughed, shrugging. "So...?"

Haley pulled her shirt over her head, handing it to Nathan, raising her eyebrows.

Nathan laughed, tossing it towards the hamper, watching it land in with ease.

Haley reached behind her and unhooked her bra, throwing it to the hamper as well.

Nathan whistled, winking at her.

"Shut up," She laughed, laying down on her stomach under the turned down covers.

Nathan smiled, sitting on the bed carefully, pushing her hair off her back, over one shoulder.

"If it starts to hurt, please... Just stop. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself," Haley mumbled, folding her arms under her head, turning her head to look at Nathan.

Nathan nodded, tracing his pointer finger along her spine lightly.

"How was your meeting today?" He asked her softly.

"Good," Haley mumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. "We mostly just discussed my next book."

"Yeah?" He replied, beginning to knead one hand into her shoulder blade.

"Yeah..." She whispered, humming softly.

"You are stressed," He commented, digging his thumb into the back of her neck. "You have a huge not in your shoulder."

"I told you," She said, shrugging slightly. "I've had a lot on my plate this week."

"I probably should have told you I'm secretly messy," He mumbled, shrugging. "I looked around earlier and it hit me. That and the fact that you cleaned the bathroom."

"It's been a long time since I've shared a space with anyone else, Nathan," She mumbled, sighing. "I just didn't really know how to go about it."

"I'm sorry," He said, smoothing his hand along her back. "I'll try better. And in a few days I'll be out of your hair. I just don't think I can really drive around or anything yet."

"I love you, Nathan," She said, blinking her eyes open. "And I want you here as long as you need to be, but-"

"You aren't ready to live together yet," He finished, chuckling quietly.

"I'm not," She confirmed. "And the only reason I bring it up is because you talked about it last week in Tree Hill..."

"I just like being with you, Hales," He said, smiling down at her. "But there are a lot of factors to think about. I don't think we're really ready for that yet. Our relationship has been unusual, but we have Nick and Macey to think about."

"Exactly," Haley said, smiling.

He laughed, kneading his fingers into the small of her back. "I have a confession."

"Okay?" She hummed out, arching her back slightly.

"I have exaggerated my pain every once and awhile," He admitted, clearing his throat. "Not today, or over anything huge, but..."

"I knew it," She said, poking his leg.

"I wasn't really lying though... More exaggerating my pain at that moment," He said, laughing. "But it's always been hurting."

"It's okay," She said, laughing. "I feel better right now. If you'd told me that earlier I might have bit your head off."

"That's why I made sure to tell you right now," Nathan hummed, tucking his fingers along her side lightly.

"While we're at it... I have a confession as well," She mumbled, her eyes fluttering.

"You do?"

"I really want this massage to have strings attached, if you think you can manage it."

Nathan laughed again, looking down at her. "What do you think I took the pain killers for?"

Haley lifted her head, grinning up at him. "You really fed me with that 'no-strings attached' line knowing full well that, I wouldn't end up wanting that."

"I'm just trying to save everyone else. You seem kind of grouchy," He teased her, shrugging.

"Public service," She said, winking at him.

"I have a feeling that all you need to be pleasant is having a clean room and getting laid regularly."

"Nathan!" She gasped, shaking her head quickly. "You squashed my mood. Keep massaging."

He laughed, leaning down and kissing her shoulder blade. "Your wish is my command, Haley James."