Chapter Sixteen

Nathan left the school by a side door to avoid the stares and speculation that the sight of him walking through the hallway with a baby would undoubtedly provoke. He didn't care for his sake, he was pretty used to being a subject of the rumour mill but he knew Jake didn't want everyone to know about Chiara. He arrived at his car pretty certain that no one had seen him. Here he met his first challenge. Who knew installing a car seat would be so complicated. He looked at the array of fasteners and straps and had no idea what was supposed to go where. He might have spent hours trying to figure it out if Whitey hadn't noticed him struggling and come out to help.

"Nathan, why are you still here?"

"I can't figure this thing out."

"Yeah, I got that. You need some help?"

"If you think you know how to put this thing in my car so that it's not going to fly away, be my guest."

"I know you see me as a grumpy old bachelor but I do know a thing or two about babies. I do have nieces and nephews you know."

"Oh."

"Now watch. The seat belt goes through this slot here. Then this strap goes through here. Make sure it's nice and tight, don't want it to wiggle around. See, all secure. So, do you know how to strap her in?"

"Not so much."

"I can see why Jake trusted you with her. Come here darling. In ya go. These two straps go over her shoulders and snap together. Then this strap hooks into the middle so that there's no way she's going to slip out. All nice and snug. You're good to go."

"Thanks Coach."

"Good luck."

The short ride home was uneventful though the whole time, he was terrified that the car seat would come loose or he'd veer off the road. All kinds of worst case scenarios ran through his mind. He hadn't been that nervous driving since his road test. It was also the first time he'd obeyed the speed limit since his road test.

"Well here we are. Don't worry, it only looks big." "Mom? I'm home."

"Hey Sweetie, I was just on my way out. How was sch." She trailed off when she noticed Chiara. "Who's this?"

"Her name is Chiara. She's Jake's daughter. I told you about her remember. I told Jake I'd watch her."

"Oh, well I was going to have dinner with Karen and Keith but I can cancel."

"No Mom. I don't want you to cancel your plans. I told Jake I'd baby-sit, not that you'd baby-sit. I can handle it."

"Well, all right. If you're sure but call my cell phone if you need anything okay."

"Okay Mom."

Ten minutes later Deb was out the door and Nathan couldn't totally shrug off the anxious feeling that came over him. He couldn't help but worry that something would go wrong.

"Just you and me now Chiara."

He walked with her into the den where his mom had brought out a box of his old toys.

"Let's see what I used to play with. Here are some blocks, and a little basketball, my father must have given that too me, you know get me off to an early start. Oh and here's the bear my mom says I used to take with me everywhere until my dad said I was too old for stuffed animals."

Chiara grabbed a block and hit Nathan in the head with it. "Ow!" He rubbed his head. "You think that's funny don't you? Here, watch. This is how you play with blocks." He took some blocks and built a tower. "See, isn't that cool." Chaira knocked the tower over and burst into giggles.

"Hey! You broke my tower!" He rebuilt it, only to have her knock it over again. The game continued for awhile. Chiara thought it was great fun to watch Nathan build a tower so that she could destroy it.

***

"Hey Mom!" Lucas greeted when he returned from shooting hoops on the playground.

"Hi Luke. Did you have a good day?"

"Oh you know, nothing out of the ordinary." He noticed his mom was wearing a dress and makeup and her hair was done. "You going somewhere?"

"Actually, Keith and I were going to have dinner in. I was hoping you'd make yourself scarce. You can borrow my car."

"Oh.okay. I guess I'll go out then. Is Uncle Keith here yet?" He knew the two were dating but hadn't really known how serious they were.

"No."

"Well you tell him not to do anything he wouldn't want to know I was doing."

"Luke!"

"Kidding. Well, sort of."

"Go!"

Lucas went upstairs and picked up the phone "Hey Peyton."

"Luke, what's up?"

"Nothing, what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm hanging out with Haley. Girls' night remember."

"Oh."

"Something wrong Luke?"

"No, have fun."

"Bye Luke."

"Great, Peyton and Haley are busy. Guess I'll have to find something else to do."

***

Luke sat in the car in Nathan's driveway, unsure whether or not he should get out of the car. When he'd left his house it had seemed like a good idea to use the evening to spend time with Nathan but he'd gotten less sure the closer he got to his destination.

"Grow up Luke. The house isn't haunted. There aren't any monsters creeping in the shadows and Dan doesn't live here any more. Just get out of the car and knock on the door. It took him another minute t actually do it."

"It's open!" Nathan called out.

Lucas slowly opened the door and walked in. He'd never been to Nathan's house when it wasn't full of people.

"Nathan? Where are you?"

"Living room."

To say that Lucas was surprised to find Nathan with a diaper in one hand and a squirming, screaming baby on the floor in front of him would be like saying Mount Everest is a pile of dirt.

"Nathan, what's going on?"

"Lucas? What are you doing here? Never mind. I'm a little occupied at the moment."

"I can see that. Who is that?"

"Chiara. Jake's daughter. I'll explain later."

"Okay. What are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to change her but this stupid thing keeps falling off."

Lucas moved closer. "I see your problem. You're trying to put it on backwards. Here, give it to me."

Lucas took the diaper from Nathan and finished the task. See, that's much better isn't it." He cooed at Chiara, who was still wailing.

"Why is she still crying?"

"She's probably hungry. Where are her bottles."

"In the fridge. I'll get one."

Nathan returned with a bottle and handed it to Chiara but she shoved it away. "That's not what she wants."

Now Lucas was at a loss too. Chiara's crying was getting louder and he was out of ideas. "She sure ahs a powerful set of lungs," he commented, trying to lighten the mood.

"This really isn't the time for jokes Lucas. How do we get her to stop crying?" "We could call your mom, or mine."

"No, I don't want them to think I can't handle it."

"Suit yourself."

"Shh, shh. No need to cry." Nathan picked Chiara up and walked around the room. "Please stop crying. Please. I'll let your daddy get some good shots in at the next game."

"I don't think bribery works on babies."

"You got any better ideas?"

"Honestly? No. Does she have a fever?"

Nathan felt her forehead. "I don't think so but there's a thermometer in the side pocket of that bag over there." Lucas handed him the thermometer and he put it in her ear. "Nope, normal."

"Wait, put your finger in her mouth."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Nathan, too tired to argue, obeyed and the baby's sobs dissipated. "Hey, she stopped. How'd you think of that?"

"Something I remembered from the baby-sitter's course Haley made me take with her when we were twelve. She's teething and her gums are sore. Chewing on your finger helps." Lucas sifted through the bag and found a teething ring. "Here, so she doesn't chew through your finger."

Nathan exchanged his finger for the teething ring. "Thanks, those teeth may be small but they're sharp. So, you really took a baby-sitter's course."

"Yeah, Haley didn't want to go alone so she goaded me into it. I can't even remember what she blackmailed me with now."

Nathan laughed. "Sorry, I'm just having a hard time picturing you putting a diaper on a plastic doll."

"Well at least I know which way to put one on. What would you have done if I hadn't shown up?"

"I'd have figured it out eventually." Lucas looked at him sceptically. "Okay maybe not. Thanks for the help. So, back to my earlier question, what are you doing here?"

"My mom kicked me out so she could have dinner with Uncle Keith. Peyton and Haley are doing some girlie thing. You were my last resort."

"Gee I feel so loved."

"So, did you really say she's Jake's? How did I not know that?"

"It's not public knowledge. He only told me to talk me out of quitting basketball."

"Oh. Wow. I guess that explains Coach's leniency with him. So how'd you end up watching her anyway? This isn't exactly your typical Friday night activity."

"Jake needed a night off. Besides, I'm going to be spending a lot of Friday nights like this in the future. So are you for that matter."

"Me?"

"Sure, cause when me and Haley need a night off from diaper duty I know you're going to be more than happy to step in."

"Oh I will will I. Haley said the same thing."

"Well that's part of your duty as uncle."

"Uncle?"

"That's the traditional name for the brother of the father right?"

"Yeah but."

"And we are brothers, for better or worse."

"You're just saying that cause you want me changing diapers."

"Yeah maybe. But DNA's on my side. Hey, she's asleep."

"Looks a lot cuter when she's not screaming doesn't she?"

"No kidding. Babies should come with an off switch. You wanna watch some tv?"

"All right. I sure don't want to go home yet. Who knows what I might walk in on."

Nathan chuckled. "So, your mom and Uncle Keith. That must feel a little weird."

"I'm getting used to it. They're happy anyway so I guess that's what counts."

"I hope I'll be that calm when my mom starts dating again."

"Your parents really getting divorced?"

"Yeah. He's still trying to convince us that he's changed but Mom's not backing down. I'm proud of her."

Both boys grew uncomfortable with the depth of their conversation. Nathan shifted Chiara's weight in his arms. "What do you wanna watch."

"I dunno. I think there's a game on."

***

Meanwhile

"So, what's Nathan up to tonight?" Peyton and Haley were over at Peyton's house, watching movies and catching up on idle gossip.

"He told me he was going to stay home and relax. He's been pretty stressed out about finals."

"Really? He never used to worry over tests."

"Yeah, because he didn't really care what he got so long as he could stay on the team. A C isn't good enough for him anymore. I consider it a great accomplishment. I mean it's great helping someone to improve their grades and understand a subject but the best feeling is knowing you've made them want to do well."

"I must say I'm impressed. I never thought I'd see the day when Nathan Scott would care about school, though I think it has more to do with you dating him than tutoring him."

"Why do you say that?"

"I think a big reason why Nathan cares about his grades is that he thinks he has to prove he's good enough for you."

"He doesn't have to prove anything."

"But he thinks he does. Anyway, enough about Nathan, if we stay on the topic much longer you'll never get off it. So.don't be mad."

"About?"

"Well I kind of invited Brooke to join us."

"What? Why?" You know we don't get along, like at all."

"I know but she asked me what I was doing tonight so I told her. She really wanted to come and I didn't have the heart to say no." "I know the two of you have been friends for years but I don't think I can handle a whole evening with her."

"Come on please. You want your best friend and your boyfriend to get along right?"

"Yeah but what does that have to do with Brooke?"

"I want my two best friends to get along. See where I'm coming from."

"Ugh. You've backed me into a corner haven't you."

"That was the plan." The doorbell rang. "There she is." She got up and opened the door. "Hi Brooke."

"Hey girl. Hi Haley."

"Now I expect you two to play nice. Understood?"

"Yeah."

"Haley?"

"Yeah, yeah."

After the movie was over, the three of them were sitting around in awkward silence.

Brooke cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, she appeared nervous. "So um.I have a confession to make."

"Brooke, I really don't feel like one of your little games of truth."

"Not that kind of confession. It has to do with you." She looked at Haley.

Now Haley was uncomfortable. "What about me?"

"First I'd just like to say that I'm not proud of what I did and if I could I'd take it back but I can't and I know Peyton wants us to be friends but we can't be until the air is cleared."

"Whatever it is Brooke, please just get it over with."

"Remember when everyone in school found out you were pregnant? Well, I was kind of the one who got that started?"

"What?! How did you even know?"

"I snuck into the boys locker room, whole other story, and overheard Lucas and Nathan talking about it. I know it was wrong and I really am sorry."

"Brooke," Peyton said. "How could you?"

"I was pissed at Lucas for dumping me and at Haley for having one of the hottest guys at school at her beck and call. I wanted to lash out at them."

Haley was too stunned to speak. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?"

"Probably not. Look, you have no reason to forgive me, I get that but I was hoping maybe you would anyway."

"Why would you care whether I forgave you or not?"

"Do I have to have a reason to want to be your friend?"

Haley got up quickly. "I doubt you and I will ever be friends." She turned to Peyton, "I'm sorry but I have to go digest this new information."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Good night."

*** Haley found herself at Nathan's front door without really realizing that was where she was going. She wasn't surprised. That was usually where she went when she was upset over something. She opened the door and let herself in. She'd stopped ringing the doorbell a long time ago.

"Nathan?"

She stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the living room and beheld the sight of Nathan, sitting on the couch with a baby in his arms and Lucas sprawled out in an arm chair, all three of them sound asleep.