I feel like this is a little more of a filler chapter. I'm hitting a bit of writer's block, if you can't tell.
Chapter 48
"What about this?"
Nick asked, holding up at remote control car, looking over at Haley.
They were out Christmas shopping but they'd decided to split up. Nathan would take Macey, and Haley would take Nick.
She'd quickly come to learn that Nick was very indecisive about getting a gift for someone.
"Yes, Nicky. I think she'll really like that," Haley confirmed, smiling at him.
"Really like it or love it?" Nick asked, sighing. "This is our first Christmas together, I want to get her the perfect gift."
Haley laughed at his wording, nodding her head quickly. "I understand the sentiment. I think she'll love it."
"Hm..." Nick sighed, setting it back down. "Let's keep looking around. I need to find the best gift ever."
"Copy that," Haley said, looking up and down the shelves in the aisle they were in.
"This is so hard," Nick said, shaking his head.
They needed to get a present for Katherine, Nathan, and Macey. All from Nick. But he was struggling.
"You know, you can always get your Dad like a new hat or something. Or maybe a tie."
"He has so many hats and ties," Nick said, scowling. "Don't you know anything about him?"
She laughed, ruffling his hair. "I know a lot about him. But I also know that no matter what you get him, he'll like it."
"Last year he bought himself something from me," Nick said, frowning. "This year I want it to actually be from me."
Haley smiled, nodding. "Hey, we can keep looking. Don't worry. We'll find the perfect gift for him."
"What did you get him?" Nick asked, looking up at her.
"Can't tell. You're a chatter box," Haley teased, looking up at the shelves again. "What about this for Macey? She loves building stuff with Legos," She suggested, grabbing a Lego box set off the shelf.
"Maybe," Nick said, tapping his chin. "She does like Legos..."
"She also likes color books. We can go find her some. And she's needing some new markers and crayons."
"Good point," Nick said, shoving his hands into his coat pockets.
Haley smiled down at his concentrated face, watching as he scanned the shelves.
He was so sweet. It warmed her heart how much he cared.
"I just don't know!" Nick grumbled, shaking his head. "I want it to be perfect."
"Do you want to go look for something for your Mom? Maybe that will give you more time to think about Macey," Haley said, nodding at him.
"She wants the same thing from me every year," Nick said, sighing softly.
"And what is that?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.
"A planner for next year and colorful clicky pens," Nick said, shrugging.
"Well then let's go find that," She hummed, resting her hand on his shoulder, leading him through the store to the aisle where the desired items were.
Nick tapped his chin, looking over the aisle. "What color do you think I should get her? Her favorite color is red, but I got her a red one last year."
"Hm..." Haley said, looking over the different planners. "What about blue?"
"I like the yellow one," Nick said, pointing over to it. "Do you think she'll like the yellow one?"
"I do," Haley confirmed, shrugging.
"Will you grab it for me so I can see what it looks like on the inside, Haley?" Nick asked, smiling up at her.
Haley grabbed it off the shelf, handing it to the boy and smiling as he opened it up.
"This is a good planner," Nick said, nodding. "She likes planners."
"She seems like she would," Haley agreed, smiling. "What about pens?"
"Oh, I know the exact pens she wants," Nick said quickly, turning around to face the other side of the aisle. He walked over to a box of pens, grabbing them quickly and handing them over to Haley. "She uses them for different things. She runs out of ink by the time her birthday comes around so I get her more then."
"Perfect," Haley said, tucking the planner under her arm.
"Do you think you'll wait for me to get back on Christmas?" Nick asked, looking over at her.
Katherine and Shawn were taking Nick from Christmas Eve until eleven in the morning on Christmas Day.
It was a bit of a bummer for all of them, but Nathan said they have an every other holiday system. And since he took Nick on Thanksgiving, Katherine got him Christmas morning.
"I'll do my best," Haley said to him, shrugging. "Hey, do you think you should get Shawn something?"
Nick groaned, looking up at her quickly. "I didn't even think of him. I have no clue what to get him!"
"Why don't we call her?" Haley suggested, pulling her phone out of her purse.
"You have my mom's phone number?" Nick asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Of course," Haley hummed, searching through her contacts until she found Katherine, tapping the call button.
"Haley! Hey. I've been meaning to call you? What did Nathan think? I bet he-"
"Katherine, I'm here with Nick," Haley cut her off, looking down at Nick's confused expression.
"Hi Mom!" Nick chimed in, leaning towards the phone.
The line was quiet for a second, before Katherine spoke again.
"Hey my love," Katherine greeted her son, the sound of laughter in her tone.
"We're shopping for Christmas but I don't know what to get Shawn," Nick said, frowning slightly.
"Oh, get in line," Katherine joked. "Nicky, you don't have to get him anything, bub."
"But I want to," Nick said, grabbing the phone out of Haley's hand.
"You're such a good boy," Katherine praised. "Well... If you really want to get him something, Shawn likes puzzles. So why don't you find him a really great puzzle and we can open it a little early and put it together on Christmas Eve. Do you like that idea?"
"But what picture do I get him?" Nick asked, frowning.
"I trust you and Haley on that one, bub. Just get him whatever one you think is the coolest."
"How many pieces?"
"Maybe like two hundred? I don't know, whatever you want, Nicholas. I promise, he'll love it," Katherine assured the eight year old. "I'm so excited to see you in a few days."
"Me too," Nick agreed, grinning slightly. "Did you buy Popsicles?"
"You are such a weirdo. They are on my list," Katherine laughed into the phone.
Haley smiled at the interaction between the two. Katherine was busy, but her and Nick had such a close bond. She was so impressive. Haley had no clue how she managed the world, but she did it effortlessly.
"Okay. We'll get him a puzzle. We're trying to figure out what I should get Dad too. Any ideas?" Nick asked, sighing.
"I think that you're better off with Haley on that one, kiddo," Katherine laughed.
Nick nodded, handing the phone back over to Haley. "Thank you, Mom! Call you later."
"Alright, Nick. Love you to the moon and back," Katherine said, humming.
"Well I love you to the moon and back then back again," Nick replied, grinning.
"That's a lot of love," Katherine hummed, "Talk to you later, Nick. Haley? Can I talk to you for one more minute?"
"Sure," Haley said, taking the phone off speaker, holding it to her ear.
"What did Nathan think?" Katherine asked quickly.
Haley rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. Oh, Katherine.
"He doesn't know yet," Haley said, clearing her throat. "I feel weird about it."
"Don't feel weird about it," Katherine assured her, laughing. "This is Nathan. He'll like anything that has to do with you."
"Yeah, but... It's kind of a Christmas present too," Haley said, shrugging.
"Right. Well... I know you won't tell me what he thinks, but just know that I'm going to ask again," Katherine hummed. "Hey, real quick! What do you think is better? Sexy Elf or Sexy Santa?"
"What?" Haley laughed, glancing down at Nick, who was still looking over the planners, just to make sure he picked the right one.
"Sexy Elf or Sexy Santa?" Katherine asked again. "I think the ears are pushing it with the elf costume. But it looks more comfortable up top. The Santa one looks like I'll be spilling out. Or maybe that's better."
"Does it come with beard?"
"No, but I'm definitely going to buy one. Shawn will think that's so funny if I come out wearing this and a beard. It's settled, I'm going with sexy Santa," Katherine decided.
Haley rolled her eyes and smiled. Katherine really came to that conclusion on her own.
"Oh, I'm getting another call on my work phone. I'll talk to you later, Haley! Thanks for calling!" Katherine hummed, and before Haley could even say goodbye, she hung up.
"You're surprising my Dad with something?" Nick asked her curiously.
"Yes, but remember, you're a chatter box so I can't say anything to you," Haley laughed, tapping his nose. "Let's go find Shawn a really cool puzzle."
Haley found the puzzle aisle with ease as well, looking up and down. It was pretty picked over, but luckily there were still some pretty decent options left.
"Which one do you think is cool?" Nick asked, crossing his arms.
"I like this one," Haley said, pointing to a train station scenery. "Maybe we should get one too."
"My dad hates puzzles," Nick said, laughing.
"Let's get one for us too anyways," Haley said, picking up the train one and smiling. "Which one are you liking?"
"I like this one," Nick said, picking up one that was a picture of the Eiffel Tower.
"Excellent choice," Haley praised, nodding at him. "Quick decision too."
"I think I know what to get my Dad," Nick said, nodding at Haley. "What if we get him a picture and frame it?"
"Okay... Do you know what picture? I don't have very many of you and him, but I can come back and get it for you."
"No, all four of us," Nick said, shrugging. "I think he would really, really like it."
Haley smiled, nodding her head. "I might have to come back later and get it, but I think he'll like that too."
"Can I look at the pictures you have of all four of us?" Nick asked, nodding up at her.
"Sure," Haley said, adjusting the items in her arms once again, pulling up her photos and handing Nick her phone.
"Maybe we should have Quinn take a picture of us," Nick said, frowning slightly as he swiped.
"Maybe one day we will," Haley said, smiling at him.
Nick continued to scroll through her photos, before holding up the phone to her so she could see.
It was a picture they'd taken just a couple of nights ago.
Macey and Nick had been playing around on her phone, and stumbled into the camera app.
There were probably thirty different pictures of the four of them, some good, most of them bad.
But Nick settled on one where they were all making silly faces, Haley's tongue stuck out at Nathan, nearly poking his cheek, while he was pretending to be shocked, and the kids both had their cheeks puffed up and their ears pulled out to look like monkeys.
It wasn't the best picture of them. But it was real.
"I think this is the one he'll like," Nick said, smiling. "He can hang it in our house, or in his office... Wherever he wants."
"I like it," Haley confirmed, nodding. "Let's send it in and if we aren't here when it's ready I'll come back and get it, okay? Now we just have to get Macey something."
"I think we should get her the legos. It's like a puzzle but it's a toy," Nick said, nodding. "I think I've made up my mind."
"Great job, Nicky! Let's go grab it while we're settled on the idea. And then we can go find a picture frame, then we can meet your father and Macey back at your house."
Nick gave her a thumbs up, heading back to the toy aisle.
xxxx
"I know this piece goes here! They must have cut it wrong!" Nathan said, scowling down at the puzzle.
Macey looked down at the pieces, before looking at the pieces Nathan was trying to force together.
She grabbed one of the pieces out of the pile, shooing his hands away and setting the piece easily in its place.
"You're kidding me," Nathan groaned, shaking his head.
She giggled at Nathan's reaction, nudging Nick softly. "He's getting mad," She whispered.
"He hates puzzles," Nick laughed quietly.
Haley sent Nathan a smile, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Maybe you should go take a break, babe."
"Yeah, babe," Macey mocked, grinning.
"Yeah, babe. Go take a break," Nick joined in.
"You three always team up on me," Nathan groaned, shaking his head and sitting down at the table. "First last week with the cookies, now this. It's no fair."
"I feel a little ganged up on for this one as well," Haley said, walking behind Nathan and resting her hands on his shoulders.
Macey and Nick laughed, continuing to sort through the pieces.
"Nick, what did you get me for Christmas?" Macey asked him, looking over curiously.
"I, um..." Nick shifted, "I... Got you..."
"Macey, don't make him tell you," Haley scolded, shaking her head. "You can't ask that question."
"Well I know for a fact that I got everyone the coolest present," Nathan said, shrugging. "I got you all a coupon book for free hugs."
"Aw man, have they not been free this whole time?" Haley asked, resting her cheek against Nathan's head, smoothing her hand along his chest.
"No, and your bill is racking up," Nathan confirmed, laughing.
"Good thing my mom pays for my stuff," Macey said, wiping a fictional bead of sweat off her head.
"Yeah, good thing," Haley joked, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to go change into something more comfy than this, okay? I'll be back down in five minutes. Do not finish the puzzle while I'm gone, you two."
Nick and Macey looked down at the pieces, then back at her and laughed.
"So what did she get me, Macey Avery?" Nathan asked as soon as Haley was gone, leaning forward on his elbows.
"I know what it is," Macey hummed, grinning.
"She told you? She wouldn't tell me," Nick said, shaking his head.
"Because you can't keep secrets, Nicky," Macey laughed, patting his shoulder.
"My mom knows too," Nick said, looking between Macey and Nathan.
"She does?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yep," Nick confirmed, shrugging.
"Okay, Macey. I will give you a dollar if you tell me," Nathan said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket, grabbing a dollar bill out and setting it on the table.
Macey grabbed the dollar, holding it up and examining it. "I will take your dollar, but I can't tell you anything," She hummed, folding up the dollar and setting it in her pocket.
"Hey, wait a minute..." Nathan sad, shaking his head.
"I saw you give it to her," Nick said, shrugging.
"Whose side are you on?" Nathan gasped, laughing.
Nick laughed, putting another puzzle piece into place.
"If you can put this whole puzzle together then I'll tell you," Macey teased Nathan, sticking out her tongue.
"Okay, okay. I can wait a few more days."
Haley reappeared down the stairs a few minutes later, sitting down next to Nathan at the table.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing at all," Nathan groaned, running his hand through his hair. "I'm going to go get some work done, okay? Since I took the day off."
"Since you took the day off from work, you're going to work from home. Makes sense," Haley said, shrugging her shoulders.
He leaned over and kissing her cheek, standing up. "I knew you'd get it," He joked, shrugging.
He walked into his office, Haley entering after him just as he was about to reach his desk, shutting the door behind her.
"I was wondering if I could cash in on one of those free hug passed early," She said, raising her eyebrows.
"Your's is actually piping hot sex but I didn't think that was appropriate for the kids," Nathan laughed, meeting her halfway across the room.
"Oh, I like that," Haley hummed, winking at him.
"I thought you might," Nathan hummed, leaning down and kissing her quickly. "How was it?" He asked her quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"It was good," Haley assured him, shrugging. "He's indecisive."
"I'm not as patient as you are, so it's probably a good thing that you were with him," He said, brushing his thumb along her cheek.
"You're plenty patient," She hummed, smiling up at him. "What about you?"
"She is less indecisive. She saw one thing that she thought he'd like, saw one thing she thought you'd like, and she bounced," Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes. "We just went and got some food and then came home and wrapped stuff."
"You two," She said, shaking her head. "You have the same brain."
He smiled, stroking his fingertips down her neck, then along her collar bone and shoulders. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."
"It is," She said, letting out a deep breath.
Nathan kissed her again, pulling her against him.
Haley kissed him for a moment, before pulling away and tapping his chest. "I better get back out there."
Nathan frowned slightly, nodding his head and shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm sure they can handle themselves for a few more minutes."
"They like to make a mess in your house for some reason," She said, shrugging. "Remember the marker on the coffee table incident that my daughter tried to lie to you about?"
"That was one time," He said, sighing softly. "Is everything okay?"
Haley knew why he was asking that. Practically every time Nathan tried to initiate anything for the past few days, she'd shut it down.
"I'm totally fine," Haley assured him, smiling. She stood on her toes and kissed him again, "I just know what Macey is capable of when she's left alone."
"Got it," He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, go ahead."
Haley sighed, resting her hand on his chest. "Love you."
"I love you too," He said, smiling slightly. "Hey, before you go, Clay called me today and told me the news!"
"The news?" Haley said, furrowing her eyebrows together.
"That they're having a boy," He said, grinning.
"They're having a boy?" Haley asked quickly.
A confused look entered Nathan's face, before realization hit him. He raised his hand to cover his mouth, his expression similar to a deer in headlights.
"You didn't know that," He said, shaking his head. "Oh, they're going to kill me!"
"Really, a boy?" Haley said, smiling at him. "That's great news!"
"I thought Quinn would have already told you! I'm sure she's going to call you soon. You have to act surprised," Nathan said quickly, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Clay will hang my head up as a decoration if he finds out that I ruined this for her."
"Gross," Haley said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to tell them I know. I can't believe you found out first though. But I don't care, I'm so excited for them!"
"Clay probably wasn't even supposed to tell me. I bet they're coming up with some clever way to reveal it," Nathan said, running a stressed hand through his hair. "I think this conversation has knocked a few years off my life."
"I hope not," She said, grinning up at him. "That's so great for them! I'm getting a new nephew."
"But you can't tell."
"I won't, I won't," Haley said, laughing. "A boy. Wow. They're going to be such great parents."
"I think so too," Nathan said, sitting down in his office chair, leaning back. "Babies are probably the norm for your family."
"It's been a couple years since anyone had one," Haley said, shrugging. "But this is different for me. This is Quinn."
"I've never met someone that so shamelessly had a favorite sibling," Nathan laughed, winking at her.
"Yeah, well you've only met Taylor and Quinn. Just wait until you see how the rest of them treat me like a baby," Haley said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, I am so pumped. I can't wait to see how they tell people."
"I'm a little surprised they found out. Part of me thought they'd wait."
"Oh, no way. It's too hard to wait," Haley laughed, shaking her head. "At least for me it was."
"Me too," Nathan said, folding his arms behind his head. "Clay owes me the chance to name him too."
"Why is that?" She laughed, raising her eyebrows.
"Because back in college he bet me fifty bucks and the chance to name his first born that I couldn't make two half court shots in a row. And I magically did it, so he owes me."
"Oh, good luck with that one," Haley said, shaking her head.
"Good thing I won too. Nick's name could have been something weird," He said, shrugging. "If it was a girl, I was going to choose Elle."
"Elle?" Haley nodded slowly, before she realized what he meant. "Elle Evans. Eleven. Funny. Quinn doesn't like names like that."
"Too bad she doesn't get a say," Nathan laughed, winking at her.
"You are not going to win this one, I hate to break it to you."
"We'll see about that," He countered, shrugging. "Now, you wouldn't want to keep the independent eight year olds waiting, would you?"
"No," She said, tapping her hands on her legs. "Don't spend all night in here, okay?"
"Got it," He replied, waving his hand dismissively.
xxxx
Nathan snapped his head up quickly at the sound of a knock on his office door, rubbing his eyes.
He'd fallen asleep.
He looked at his computer screen quickly, rubbing his eyes.
It was just after ten.
Shit. He'd promised to not kick himself in his office.
"Come in," Nathan said, squeezing the bridge of his nose and sighing.
"Hey," Haley said, smiling at him. "You alright?"
"Yes, I'm sorry," He apologized quickly, "I fell asleep... At like 8:30."
"It's okay," She entered the room, walking over to him and sitting across his lap, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, resting her head against his.
"You asked me not to stay in here all night, and I really didn't mean to," He mumbled, wrapping his arm around her.
"It's fine, Nathan," She said, closing her eyes. "They didn't even argue with me when I told them it was time to go to bed."
"You're already putting your life on hold and watching them all day over break while I go to work, the least I could do is help out when I'm actually home," He said, shaking his head.
"Stop," She laughed, "It's not putting my life on hold at all. You're forgetting that I was already working from home when you met me and even though I have two jobs technically, I'm not stressed at all."
He leaned back, closing his eyes and sighing. "You should quit your other job," He mumbled.
"I feel too bad for Greg, especially now that he's dating your mom," She said, squeezing his shoulder. "I'm making it work."
"Of course you are," He said, squeezing her side lightly. "You're you."
She smiled, kissing his forehead. "I'll figure it out eventually. But I appreciate the concern."
He rotated his chair back and forth slightly, sucking in a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?"
"I'd rather you didn't," Haley said quickly, looking down at him.
"Huh?" He asked, frowning.
"I'd rather you didn't ask me your question and you just trusted that I have my reasons," She said, biting her lip.
"I have to ask you though," He said, shaking his head.
"Nathan..."
"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, clearing his throat. "Did I hurt you in some type of way?"
"What? No," She said quickly.
"I'm just confused, I guess..." He mumbled, rubbing his hand down his face, gently tugging on the short hairs on his jaw.
"Nathan," Haley sighed, standing up. "It's nothing, I promise. Can you just trust me?"
"You just seem jumpy whenever I put my hands on you, and I don't like it," He said, looking up at her.
Haley bit her lip, locking her fingers together and covering her face with her wrists.
"I did something," He groaned, twisting in his chair nervously. "God, Haley... What did I do? I'm so sorry."
"Nathan, stop," Haley said quickly. "You didn't do anything, I promise."
"You lock the bathroom door when you shower, you've been waiting until I'm out of the room to change... What is it, Haley? Did something else happen? Are you okay?"
Haley let out a defeated sigh, turning around and lifting up the back of her shirt.
Nathan's eyes fell to the small of her back, expecting the worse. But instead, he was met with a number.
'23'
Their was still a faint red outline, which meant it was new.
Of course it was new, he'd never noticed it before.
"I'm sorry, Nathan... It was just a Christmas present for you. I was going to wait, but you were clearly getting worried."
He stood up, staring down at the two numbers on her back.
"Macey knows about this?"
"What? No," Haley said, looking over her shoulder at him. "Why would I tell my daughter about this?"
"She said that she knows what you got me."
"This isn't one of the presents I told her about," She assured him with a laugh.
"And Katherine?"
"Katherine... Does know about this one," Haley said, biting her lip. "Weird, I know. But it was kind of her idea."
"Why this?" He asked her, clearing his throat. "I haven't played basketball in years."
"I know, but... Macey has a jersey, Nick has a jersey... I wanted something too," She said, clearing her throat. "What do you think?"
Nathan gently traced a circle around the ink, making sure to be careful. He smiled slightly as goose bumps formed on Haley's skin.
"What do I think? I think this is the hottest Christmas present I've ever received," He mumbled.
He whipped Haley around so that she was facing him, backing her up against the door with a thud, attaching his lips to her neck quickly.
Haley tilted her eyes back, her eyes fluttering shut. "So, can I use one of my coupons?"
Nathan laughed, nodding his head quickly.
"It just so happens we're having a special. Come in with a tattoo dedicated to me and you get a buy one get one free special."
"Well then I guess it's my lucky day."
"No, Haley, I actually think it's my lucky day."
