I really have no explanation besides I lost interest in this story. I've really shifted my focuses elsewhere, but I don't feel right starting any more new stories until I wrap up this one.
So this is the final chapter. I may do an epilogue. I'm really disappointed in myself and my writing, but I need to end this story or else it will be one update every year for the rest of my life.
It's not the ending it deserves, but my focuses have shifted else where, if you can't tell.
So this has been, One Way Or Another. I hope you've enjoyed it :)
PS. I decided not to name the baby Lydia for this story because one of the big reasons Lydia received her name is because her namesake had passed away, but Lydia has not passed away in this story.
Chapter 44
"I feel like I'm going to pop," Haley groaned, rubbing her hand over her swollen stomach.
Nathan glanced over at her from his seat on the floor, shrugging slightly. "I'm sorry?"
"It's your fault," She mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. "She is ready to be out."
"I'm not quite sure that's true," Nathan laughed, holding up different pieces of the crib, scratching his neck. "That's not right..."
"I should have just had Lucas do this," Haley said, raising her hand and covering her mouth. "I didn't mean that."
"We should have done this months ago. Who gets a baby's room ready two weeks before the due date?" He said, looking over at her.
"Well, I've been super busy raisin your child and growing your other child inside of me while teaching high school students," She mumbled, leaning back in the big chair, trying to get comfortable. "And you, you've been off playing a game and going to parties."
"Hales, come on."
"That's not fair, I'm sorry... I'm just... So uncomfortable, Nathan."
Nathan looked at the partly assembled crib, before looking over at his wife.
He moved closer to her, grabbing onto her foot and holding it in his lap, beginning to massage her heel lightly.
"Now that... That is better than sex," Haley groaned, leaning her head back. "We're done with sex. I think this is enough for me for the rest of my life."
"You got it," He said, rolling his eyes and smiling up at her. "We don't even really need to set the crib up right now, right? She'll sleep in our room in a bassinet for a little bit, won't she?"
"We need the baby's room to he done, Nathan. Don't be crazy," She said, gesturing around. "Look, Peyton painted on the walls already. It looks beautiful in here. It's missing furniture."
"A baby doesn't care about furniture," Nathan reminded her, grabbing her other foot.
"I care about the furniture, Nathan. If you weren't-" Haley stopped herself and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Always on the road," He said, rubbing her calf lightly, sighing.
"That," She said, closing her eyes and rubbing her hand along her stomach. "We don't have the room, we don't even have a name!"
"I thought we had a name?" He replied, raising his eyebrows in surprise and looking up at her quickly. "Weren't we naming her Tessa?"
"She doesn't like it anymore," Haley said simply. "That's not our baby's name."
"When you say she doesn't like it... You mean you?"
"I'm sorry, Nathan? Is she inside of you? Can you feel her emotions?"
Nathan pulled a confused face, "Do you feel her emotions?"
"That's for me to know," She said, letting out a deep breath.
He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Alright, I guess... We'll keep brainstorming."
"I like Delilah," She hummed, looking down at him.
"Sure, sure..." Nathan said, setting her foot down and leaning back on his arms.
"Okay, that's a no from you," She said, nodding.
"I like Bella," Nathan said, raising his eyebrows at the suggestion.
"I don't know..." She said, running her hand through her hair. "I just don't know, Nathan. Nothing feels right."
"We'll figure it out, babe. We still have time."
"Do we have time, Nathan? Because you have to go back to Charlotte soon. And it's your job, I know that, but what if you're not here?"
"Hey, hey... I'll be here," He assured her, frowning. "Come on, I wouldn't miss this."
"I'm going to have to have my mom in there with me, Nathan. And she'll crack jokes the whole time," Haley said, covering her face. "I love my mom, Nathan. More than anyone. But I cannot hear her make jokes about my-"
"I'll be there," Nathan cut her off, pushing himself up to his feet. He leaned over and kissed her quickly, brushing his hand over her cheek. "I'm going to be there, Haley James. Don't you worry."
"I know, I just hate the fact that we have to have a plan in place in case you aren't," She mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut.
A stray tear rolled down her cheek.
"You're crying?" He said softly, smiling down at her.
"I don't even know why I'm crying!" She groaned, pointing to her stomach. "This kid..."
"Is going to be amazing," He put the words in her mouth, laughing.
"You're right, I mean... Look at Jamie," She said softly.
Nathan rested his hand on her stomach, kissing her head softly. "Come on, Haley... Let's get out of here. I think you could use the fresh air."
"Only for a little while though," She mumbled, grabbing onto his hand. "We need to finish this room. That's why we sent Jamie with Brooke."
"I need to finish this room and you need to sit down," He corrected, pulling her up to her feet. "We're just going to take a short walk."
Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan, leaning against him and sighing. "I'm so tired, Nathan... I don't know. Maybe I should just go back to bed."
"You can, but I think you need some fresh air. So we can maybe just go sit outside?" He suggested, rubbing her back.
"Let's do that," She mumbled, letting him lead her out of the room and down the stairs.
Nathan smiled at her, kissing her cheek softly. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" She replied, sending him a questioning look as they stepped outside. "About what?"
"That you're struggling," He mumbled, leading her out to the chairs next to the pool, easing her down.
"I'm not, I'm not..." She mumbled, wincing slightly, rubbing her stomach.
"You... Okay?" He asked, sitting down in the chair next to her, frowning.
"Yeah, I just think I'm having some Braxton Hicks contractions," She said, shrugging. "Nothing to worry about yet. I've only been having them for a little while."
"Are you sure?" He asked, rubbing his neck. "I mean... It's just a quick trip to the hospital."
"No, it's not, Nathan. They're Braxton Hicks. We're not having this baby today. We aren't even close to ready."
"Haley..." He trailed off, clearing his throat.
"I'm fine, Nathan," She said quickly. "I'm outside, getting my fresh air."
He ran his hand through his hair, standing up slowly. "Right, well... I'm going to go call Clay. I'll be right back, okay?"
"Mhm," Haley replied, closing her eyes and laying back against the chair.
Nathan nodded, hurrying back into the house, pulling out his phone.
Rather than Clay, he called Lucas.
"Hey Nate, how's the-"
"I'm taking Haley to the hospital. So could you guys keep Jamie overnight?"
"You're- what?" Lucas asked quickly.
Nathan could hear the grin in his voice.
"Brooke!" Lucas called his wife over to the phone.
"What's up?" Brooke hummed into the phone.
"Haley's in labor," Lucas whispered to her.
"Guys, guys, bring it back," Nathan said quickly. "She's not- well, I don't really know. She's having some contractions and she thinks they're just Braxton Hicks but I'm not so sure."
"Well I took her in last week for Braxton Hicks," Brooke admitted, sighing softly. "She asked me not to tell you."
"You did what?" Nathan groaned, rubbing his hand down his face. "Why wouldn't she want me to know?"
"Because she didn't want to worry you," Brooke hummed, "And it ended up being nothing."
"I just have the feeling," Nathan said, clearing his throat. "So can you two just answer my question?"
"Yes, of course we can keep Jamie," Lucas said. "Keep us posted."
"I will..." Nathan trailed off, looking over when Haley hurried into the room.
"Nathan? My water just broke. It's time."
"What? Really?" Nathan asked quickly. "You guys catch that?"
"Go!" Brooke and Lucas yelled at the same time.
Nathan hung up the phone, feeling around his pockets quickly. "My keys..."
"Hung up on the hook, right?" Haley said, wincing slightly.
"Uh... They're upstairs on the bed! I'll grab the go bags while I'm up there."
Nathan ran up the stairs, letting out a sigh of relief that his keys were where he'd hoped they'd be, grabbing the bags, and running back down the stairs.
"We're not ready," Haley said, biting her lip.
"Worry about that later, Haley! Let's go have a baby."
xxxx
19 hours later, a beautiful baby girl Scott was brought into the world.
Without a definitive name, but both Haley and Nathan were too tired to talk about it.
A power nap, a milkshake later, and some light arguing later, they'd landed on a name that both of them thought was perfect.
Nathan stepped into the hallway where Lydia, Jimmy, Quinn, Peyton, Brooke, Lucas, Jamie, and were waiting.
"Jamie," Nathan said softly, leaning down and hugging the seven year old. "Ready to meet your little sister?"
"You sure it's not a brother?" Jamie asked, looking up at him.
"Let's not make that joke in front of your mom," He laughed, rubbing Jamie's shoulder.
"Well, Nathan? Are you going to keep us waiting on her name?" Lydia asked, smiling at him.
"I mean, you've already waited so long, why not a little bit longer?" He joked, hugging his mother in law quickly. "You guys are next."
"Can't wait," Jimmy said, nodding at Nathan.
"Come on, Jame," He said, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, leading him back into Haley's room.
Nathan walked in, feeling his heart swell as soon as Haley holding their daughter came into view.
It was like he was getting flashbacks. But it was better this time because they had Jamie with them to experience it.
"Hi baby," Haley greeted Jamie, smiling brightly at him.
Jamie approached the bed, craning to look at the baby in his mother's arms. "She's so small."
"Yeah, she is," Nathan agreed, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. "Want to know her name?"
"What?" Jamie asked, looking over at Nathan.
"Avery Lydia Scott," Nathan said, smiling fondly at the three people in front of him.
"That's the name I said!" Jamie said, grinning.
"Yeah," Haley said, nodding over at the hand sanitizer.
Nathan quickly grabbed it, giving some to Jamie.
"Want to hold her?" Haley asked, sitting up slightly.
"Can you help me?" Jamie looked over at Nathan, nodding.
"Of course," Nathan said softly, standing up. He stepped in front of Jamie, leaning down and kissing Haley's forehead. He gently lifted Avery out of her arms, turning to Jamie. "It's really important to support her head. Sit down."
Jamie did what he was told, smiling when Nathan carefully set the baby in his arms.
"I think I'll like having a sister," Jamie said, smiling down at the baby.
Nathan knelt down, keeping his arms Jamie's to help him a little bit.
He couldn't believe that this was his life now. It was the life he always wanted with the people he always wanted.
He glanced over his shoulder at Haley, smiling brightly at her.
Haley smiled back at him, blowing him a kiss.
This was perfect.
xxxx
"We don't have anything ready," Haley said, biting her lip as they entered the house, baby carrier in Nathan's hand.
"It's fine, babe," Nathan assured her, rubbing her back lightly. "Let's just go poke our heads in and see what we have left to do."
"I'm really tired, honey... And she's sleeping. Can we just worry about it tomorrow?" Haley suggested, looking up at him.
"Let's just look," He said, setting the carrier down, reaching down and gently lifting the sleeping baby out of it, resting her head on his shoulder. "How do you feel about stairs?"
"I can handle it," She mumbled, smiling at Nathan and Avery.
She looked so tiny in Nathan's arms. His hand covered her whole back.
Nathan helped her up the stairs, smiling slightly.
They arrived at the baby's room.
Haley prepared for the wave of emotions that was about to hit her. She was so upset that the room wasn't done.
Nathan pushed open the door, smiling brightly as he entered the room.
Brooke, Lucas, and Jamie were standing in the room, big smiles on each of their faces.
"Ta-da!" Jamie said, holding out his hands.
Haley stepped past Nathan, "You guys..." She said, raising her hand to cover her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.
The crib was all put together, everything looked clean and ready.
"Nathan mentioned that you guys didn't get a chance to finish the room," Brooke said, smiling at her long time friend. "And we just had to come help."
"Thank you so much, guys... Really," Nathan said, kissing Avery's head lightly. "This is your room," He whispered to the sleeping baby.
"Come to Aunt Brooke," Brooke hummed, reaching out her arms.
"Okay, but just for a minute," Nathan said, setting Avery in Brooke's arms, looking at Haley, who was still peering around the room.
Haley lowered her hand, hugging Lucas quickly. "Thank you, Luke."
"This crib was a pain to put together," Lucas laughed, tapping it with his hand. "Hopefully that means it's sturdy."
"It better. It cost an arm and a leg too," Nathan laughed, winking at Haley. "Avery better be worth it."
"I don't doubt she will be," Brooke hummed, smiling down at the baby.
"Thank you so much, all of you," Haley said, kissing Jamie's head. "Love you, buddy."
"I love you too, Mom," Jamie said, hugging her gently.
Nathan smiled, dropping his arm around Haley.
Haley rested her head on Nathan's shoulder, her eyes dropping slightly.
Brooke seemed to pick up on it quick. "Alright, Avery Scott. We'll get out of your hair. Treat your parents well," She whispered to the baby, handing her off to Haley.
"Don't worry, we've got Jamie again tonight," Lucas said, ruffling the kid's hair. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Jamie said, waving at his parents. "Bye, Avery."
Lucas and Brooke started to exit the room with the older Scott child, but Brooke stopped.
"I can't wait for Avery to grow up with a little cousin right around her age." She said, grinning.
Haley nodded slowly, her tired brain taking a moment to register Brooke's words.
Her eyes widened, and she turned to Nathan, handing him their daughter.
"Are you?"
"I am!" Brooke said, looking up at Lucas quickly. "We are. I didn't want to take your thunder, but-"
"Oh, you're having a baby!" Haley cooed, rushing towards the dark haired woman, hugging her tightly. "Our kids are going to grow up together."
"You're having a baby too?" Jamie asked quickly, looking around the room.
"We are," Lucas confirmed, smiling brightly.
"Congrats, you guys," Nathan said, nodding at them.
"Well, geez! Everyone is having babies," Jamie laughed, throwing his hands up in the air.
"I'm so happy for you, Brooke," Haley whispered, hugging her tightly. "I love you guys."
"We love you. We'll go now though and talk some more tomorrow. Get some rest, Haley."
Brooke grabbed Lucas' hand, pulling him and Nathan and Haley's son out of the room.
Haley turned to Nathan, smiling brightly. She gestured around the room. "Well that really worked out."
Nathan nodded, his eyes bouncing down to the small baby in his arms and back up to his beautiful wife that helped create her. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, looking around the room himself.
He landed on a picture of the four of them in the hospital. The first of many family pictures.
"You know, I've learned that with us, things usually work out. One way or another."
