A/N: Okay... the next few updates are going to be the month's time frame in
which Nathan is home on leave. Hope everyone enjoys!
It's nearly eleven o'clock at night when I finally pull into the parking lot at the apartment building complex. Lucas let me borrow his jeep for the ride back to Tree Hill from Chapel Hill. I ended up staying there for dinner and to visit for a while, since I want to spend most of my time with Haley in the next month. Quietly, I slide my key into the door, unlocking it carefully, not wanting to wake my wife up.
I make my way to the bedroom, carefully not to bump into anything or cause a commotion. Stripping from my blue jeans and shirt to just my boxers, I climb in beside her after shutting the television off. She doesn't stir at the movement of the bed, and I decide to just let her sleep through the night. After the news I have to deliver tomorrow, nothing's going to be the same, so, for tonight, I'm just going to enjoy having her next to me, calm and collected.
The warmth of the sun beats down through the screened window, birds fluttering about outside. As I feel her beginning to awaken, I lean over, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Nate?" She mumbles. I exhale slowly, relieved that she still is able to recognize my kiss. "What are you doing here?" She rolls over, planting her body up with her elbow to look at me. "Why are you home?" All of a sudden I can see the nervousness on her face.
"I'm on leave for a month." I say, pulling her into my arms and allowing her to collapse into them. "Do you want me to make you some breakfast?"
She knows something isn't right though and she's not going to let me off the hook that easily. "You've only been gone for a little over two months. Why are they giving you leave already?" She pulls back from me, apparently realizing something isn't right about what I've told her.
I groan inwardly, not yet ready to have to tell my wife of only two and a half months that her husband is being shipped to Iraq. I pull her back into my arms, not so much as to try and avoid what has to happen but rather to try and offer her some sort of comfort when the next few words escape my mouth. "I have to go to Iraq, Hales. I'm shipping out September 1."
She doesn't so much as say a word. Instead, she stares at me. A stony- eyed stare which leaves to me no consolation of knowing she'll be able to get through this. "Iraq?" The word echoes through my mind as I embrace her tighter, wishing I had never enlisted.
"Yeah. We're being deployed September 1. For six months. So they gave us all a months leave, to tie up any loose ends we may have." I look up at her and notice the tears forming in her eyes. "I came home to spend my time with you. No one besides Brooke and Luke know I'm home." She leans her head into my shoulder, sobbing quietly.
"It's gonna be fine Haley. I promise you." Suddenly, I've upset her.
"You can't make that promise to me. You obviously haven't seen the news Nathan. There's nothing good happening over there." I stop her, pulling her back into my arms, wishing that this never had to happen.
"Haley. Nothing's going to happen. I'm going to be fine. We're going to be fine." I wipe away her tears and kiss her gingerly. At that moment, all the worries, all the unhappiness that we're bound to face in the next few months are erased.
"We kind of need to talk about what just happened." She whispers, looking up to glance into my eyes.
I nod my head uneasily. It shouldn't have happened. We weren't thinking and let ourselves get caught up in the moment. "Let me fix us some breakfast. We'll talk then, okay?" She nods in response, pleased enough by what I've just suggested. "Why don't you hop in the shower and then we'll be ready to eat."
As she makes her way towards the bathroom, my eyes follow her. What are we going to do now? Unprotected sex? Suddenly I want to scream, want to hurt myself for putting her through this. She can't do this alone... that much I know. I reach in to the refrigerator, grabbing the carton of eggs. Right now, I can't think about this.
It's nearly eleven o'clock at night when I finally pull into the parking lot at the apartment building complex. Lucas let me borrow his jeep for the ride back to Tree Hill from Chapel Hill. I ended up staying there for dinner and to visit for a while, since I want to spend most of my time with Haley in the next month. Quietly, I slide my key into the door, unlocking it carefully, not wanting to wake my wife up.
I make my way to the bedroom, carefully not to bump into anything or cause a commotion. Stripping from my blue jeans and shirt to just my boxers, I climb in beside her after shutting the television off. She doesn't stir at the movement of the bed, and I decide to just let her sleep through the night. After the news I have to deliver tomorrow, nothing's going to be the same, so, for tonight, I'm just going to enjoy having her next to me, calm and collected.
The warmth of the sun beats down through the screened window, birds fluttering about outside. As I feel her beginning to awaken, I lean over, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Nate?" She mumbles. I exhale slowly, relieved that she still is able to recognize my kiss. "What are you doing here?" She rolls over, planting her body up with her elbow to look at me. "Why are you home?" All of a sudden I can see the nervousness on her face.
"I'm on leave for a month." I say, pulling her into my arms and allowing her to collapse into them. "Do you want me to make you some breakfast?"
She knows something isn't right though and she's not going to let me off the hook that easily. "You've only been gone for a little over two months. Why are they giving you leave already?" She pulls back from me, apparently realizing something isn't right about what I've told her.
I groan inwardly, not yet ready to have to tell my wife of only two and a half months that her husband is being shipped to Iraq. I pull her back into my arms, not so much as to try and avoid what has to happen but rather to try and offer her some sort of comfort when the next few words escape my mouth. "I have to go to Iraq, Hales. I'm shipping out September 1."
She doesn't so much as say a word. Instead, she stares at me. A stony- eyed stare which leaves to me no consolation of knowing she'll be able to get through this. "Iraq?" The word echoes through my mind as I embrace her tighter, wishing I had never enlisted.
"Yeah. We're being deployed September 1. For six months. So they gave us all a months leave, to tie up any loose ends we may have." I look up at her and notice the tears forming in her eyes. "I came home to spend my time with you. No one besides Brooke and Luke know I'm home." She leans her head into my shoulder, sobbing quietly.
"It's gonna be fine Haley. I promise you." Suddenly, I've upset her.
"You can't make that promise to me. You obviously haven't seen the news Nathan. There's nothing good happening over there." I stop her, pulling her back into my arms, wishing that this never had to happen.
"Haley. Nothing's going to happen. I'm going to be fine. We're going to be fine." I wipe away her tears and kiss her gingerly. At that moment, all the worries, all the unhappiness that we're bound to face in the next few months are erased.
"We kind of need to talk about what just happened." She whispers, looking up to glance into my eyes.
I nod my head uneasily. It shouldn't have happened. We weren't thinking and let ourselves get caught up in the moment. "Let me fix us some breakfast. We'll talk then, okay?" She nods in response, pleased enough by what I've just suggested. "Why don't you hop in the shower and then we'll be ready to eat."
As she makes her way towards the bathroom, my eyes follow her. What are we going to do now? Unprotected sex? Suddenly I want to scream, want to hurt myself for putting her through this. She can't do this alone... that much I know. I reach in to the refrigerator, grabbing the carton of eggs. Right now, I can't think about this.